Danone, which counts bottled water brands such as Evian, Volvic and Badoit among its global portfolio, announced last year it would conduct a full strategic review of its brands, SKUs and assets. “This sale is part of Danone’s strategic portfolio review and of the continuous optimization of its capital allocation,” said the food and beverage giant as it announced the sale.
The Danish company Aqua d'Or Natural Mineral Water A/S was founded in 1988: with its namesake Aqua d’Or brand providing premium natural mineral water from a source in Jutland, Fasterholt.
Aqua d’Or has around 75 employees and generated revenue of around DKK 180m ($27m / €24m) in 2020, with a strong market presence in Denmark and Sweden. The company markets its own brands Aqua d’Or, Klar and Denice, as well as supplying private products to selected customers.
The company will now join Royal Unibrew, a multi-beverage company whose main markets are Denmark, Finland, Italy, Germany, France and the Baltics. Royal Unibrew’s portfolio includes beer, malt beverage, soft drinks, ciders, RTDs, juice, energy and water products.
Royal Unibrew already counts brands Mangali, Novelle and Egekilde among its bottled water portfolio, and says the acquisition of Aqua d’Or - the latest in a series of acquisitions this year - will help continue to diversify the company's footprint.
“The acquisition strengthens Royal Unibrew’s market position within water in Denmark, as well as providing access to new sales channels for Royal Unibrew,” says the company.
“Aqua d’Or produces predominantly still and sparkling water and the company’s focus on healthy beverages fits strategically very well with Royal Unibrew’s focus on no/low calorie beverages. Aqua d’Or’s modern production facility in central Jutland, Denmark, provides additional capacity and diversify our production footprint.”
Closing of the transaction is subject to approval from the Danish Competition Authority, which is expected during the first half of 2022.
In May, Royal Unibrew acquired Danish regional brewer Fuglsang, which has a strong presence in southern Jutland. In July, it acquired Nordic importer and distributor Solera Beverage Group. The same month, it also acquired France’s MC Energy, the company behind energy drink Crazy Tiger, which has a 10% market share of the category in the country.
