Campari sheds soda business

Campari is continuing its strategic actions aimed at streamlining its product portfolio and positioning itself in the high-end spirits market.

For this purpose, the Italian group has sold its famous Lemonsoda brand to the Danish giant Royal Unibrew (known in Italy for Ceres beer) for a figure of €80 million. Together with Lemonsoda, the sale also includes Oransoda, Pelmosoda and Mojito Soda, grouped together under the Freedea brand name, and the Crodo brands (with the exclusion of Crodino). Royal Unibrew has also acquired the entire production and bottling facility, the water source and the warehouse located in the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the northern Italian Piedmont region.

In recent months Campari had also shed other brands including Sella&Mosca (Europe’s largest winery), Lapostolle, Sancerre, Carolans and Irish Mist, as well as several real estate activities, for a selling price of around €228 million.

On the other hand, in 2016 it acquired Grand Marnier which to date has generated €58 million of revenues and €15 million of additional margins.

The group’s current focus is on global brands (Aperol and Campari) and on a number of well-established local brands such as Averna, Braulio and Cynar. The sale is due to close by the end of 2017.