Del Valle® becomes 15th billion dollar Coca-Cola brand

The Coca-Cola Company announced today the addition of Del Valle® to its roster of brands that have achieved global retail sales of more than $1 billion, bringing the number of billion dollar brands in the Company’s portfolio to 15.

Jugos Del Valle, a leading juice company in the Latin American region, was acquired in 2007 in a joint venture by The Coca-Cola Company and Coca-Cola FEMSA, with further participation in the joint venture by an additional 12 bottlers in Mexico. Since the acquisition, retail sales of the Del Valle brand have more than doubled from less than $500 million to $1 billion as distribution of the brand has expanded from three countries to 15.

“The business model we are using for Del Valle has been key in igniting our bottlers engagement with the brand´s growth,” said José Octavio Reyes, President, Coca-Cola Latin America.

Del Valle product lines, including popular brand extensions Valle Frut and Valle Fresh, are available in 15 countries including Mexico, Brazil, Spain and the United States, with strategic expansion planned in coming years. Del Valle is the first of the Company’s billion dollar brands with roots in Latin America.

“The success of Del Valle through both acquisition and organic growth is an outstanding example of the scalability of our juice portfolio across regions,” said Iain McLaughlin, General Manager of the Global Juice Center, The Coca-Cola Company. “We’ve taken an established brand and applied our juice business expertise in innovation, branding, packaging and price architecture to increase the value of Del Valle.”

Del Valle is the fourth brand within The Coca-Cola Company’s juice and juice drink portfolio to reach one billion dollars in retail sales, joining Minute Maid, Simply and Minute Maid Pulpy. Including Del Valle, the Company’s last three brands to achieve billion dollar status have been juice and juice drink brands. Globally, The Coca-Cola Company is the number one provider of juices and juice drinks.

Del Valle is the most recent juice brand to transition to a new visual identity. In November 2009, The Coca-Cola Company unveiled a new visual identity system for key brands in the Company’s extensive family of juice beverages. The uniform packaging design established a common look and feel that enhances brand equity, brings continuity to the entire juice and juice drink portfolio, and is scalable across multiple brands and products.

The Company’s largest juice and juice drink brands representing 1,000 different products and 1 billion units sold have implemented the new juice visual identity. By the end of 2011, key “masterbrands” of the juice portfolio, including Minute Maid, Minute Maid Pulpy and Del Valle, will have transitioned to the common look, providing a consistent visual platform.