oca-Cola HBC has taken another step into the coffee market, snapping up a 30% stake in 140-year-old Italian roaster Caffè Vergnano for an undisclosed sum.
The firm is set to hold exclusive distribution rights to the brand’s beans and espresso pods outside of Italy once the deal completes later this year.
The dual London and Athens-listed bottler is a major partner to The Coca-Cola Company, which bought Costa from Whitbread for $4.9 billion (£3.5 billion) in 2019. HBC said it worked with The Coca Cola Company on the new deal, and said Caffè Vergnano will be “highly complementary” to its existing Costa Coffee arm, and allow it to “address an even wider range of consumer tastes and segments”.
The family-owned Caffè Vergnano is one of Italy’s oldest roasters, with roots dating back to 1882. Today it sells espresso beans and single-use pods in 90 countries around the world.
HBC said the deal “represents an important milestone” in its growth ambitions, while Franco and Carlo Vergnano, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Caffè Vergnano, said they are confident the move “will prove a powerful partnership in growing our business further”.
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“Our investment in Caffè Vergnano is aligned with The Coca-Cola Company as we have worked together on this opportunity.”
