Frucor is a Japanese-owned beverage company operating in Australasia, and headquartered in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. The company is known for its V energy drink launched in 1997, which is sold across the world including Europe, South Africa and Argentina. Frucor has joint partners PepsiCo,

Danone Danone S.A. () is a French multinational food-products corporation based in Paris. It was founded in Barcelona, Spain. It is listed on Euronext Paris where it is a component of the CAC 40 stock market index. Some of the company's products are ...

, and Sanitarium so their products are marketed by

Frucor Frucor is a Japanese-owned beverage company operating in Australasia, and headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand. The company is known for its V energy drink launched in 1997, which is sold across the world including Europe, South Africa and ...

History

Frucor was founded by New Zealand Apple and Pear Board in 1962 and released their first product, Fresh Up. In 1978, New Zealand Olympic track runner John Walker endorsed the Fresh Up product, with the catchphrase "Fresh Up – it's got to be good for you'". Frucor was owned by New Zealand Apple and Pear Board until 1998, when it was purchased for $50 million by

Pacific Equity Partners Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) is a private equity investment firm focusing on transactions in Australia and New Zealand. PEP invests across a range of industries and sectors and in turnaround and growth capital transactions. The firm is based i ...

. In 1999 Frucor became the exclusive bottler for Pepsi products in New Zealand. In 2000 Frucor launched V in the UK and Ireland manufactured in the Netherlands. In 2001, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'' named Frucor in its Top 20 Companies of 2002. In January 2002,

Groupe Danone A group is a military unit or a military formation that is most often associated with military aviation. Air and aviation groups The terms group and wing differ significantly from one country to another, as well as between different branches o ...

purchased Frucor for $294 million after bidding since October 2001 and being rejected by Frucor in the beginning. That same year, Frucor acquired the Australian fruit juice company Spring Valley from Bonlac Foods (now

Fonterra Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited is a New Zealand multinational publicly traded dairy co-operative owned by around 9,000 New Zealand farmers. The company is responsible for approximately 30% of the world's dairy exports and with revenue exce ...

). In 2007, Frucor partnered with MySpace to host a job promotions campaign with participants ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'',

Billabong Billabong ( ) is an Australian term for an oxbow lake, an isolated pond left behind after a river changes course. Billabongs are usually formed when the path of a creek or river changes, leaving the former branch with a dead end. As a result ...

. The collaboration with MySpace and the job promoters was the first of its type in Australia. In October 2008, Groupe Danone sold Frucor to Japanese company Suntory for over €600 million. In January 2011, Frucor launched the V brand in Spain, where by June, was already being sold in 8,000 outlets. In 2013, Frucor sponsored the IGN Australia Black Beta Select Awards. In June 2017 Frucor Beverages was renamed Frucor Suntory to align better with its parent company Suntory.

Products

Frucor Suntory's diversified portfolio of products includes carbonated soft drinks,

spring water A spring is a point of exit at which groundwater from an aquifer flows out on top of Earth's crust ( pedosphere) and becomes surface water. It is a component of the hydrosphere. Springs have long been important for humans as a source of fresh ...

sports drink Sports drinks, also known as electrolyte drinks, are functional beverages whose stated purpose is to help athletes replace water, electrolytes, and energy before, during and especially after training or competition. There are many perceived bene ...

and energy drinks,

fruit juices Juice is a drink made from the extraction or pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat or seafood, such as ...

iced tea Iced tea (or ice tea) is a form of cold tea. Though it is usually served in a glass with ice, it can refer to any tea that has been chilled or cooled. It may be sweetened with sugar or syrup. Iced tea is also a popular packaged drink that can be ...

flavoured milk Flavored milk is a sweetened dairy drink made with milk, sugar, flavorings, and sometimes food colorings. It may be sold as a pasteurized, refrigerated product, or as an ultra-high-temperature (UHT) treated product not requiring refrigeration. ...

, coffee, tea and alcohol. Frucor Suntory distributes a number of sparkling, still and other non-alcoholic beverages. Some of these include: * V (drink) * Just Juice *NZ Natural * Maximus (Sports drink) *

h2go H, or h, is the eighth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''aitch'' (pronounced , plural ''aitches''), or regio ...

* Boss Coffee * Amplify Kombucha *

Ribena Ribena ( ) is a brand of blackcurrant-based soft drink (both uncarbonated and carbonated), and fruit drink concentrate designed to be mixed with water. It is available in bottles, cans and multi-packs. Originally of British origin, it was prod ...

* Up & Go

References

External links

* {{Suntory Food and drink companies established in 1962 Beverage companies of New Zealand New Zealand brands Manufacturing companies based in Auckland Food and drink companies based in Auckland Suntory New Zealand subsidiaries of foreign companies 1962 establishments in New Zealand 2002 mergers and acquisitions 2008 mergers and acquisitions PepsiCo bottlers New Zealand drinks