Features
Nestle, Ocean Spray to squeeze costs out of juice operations
GLENDALE — The beverage division of Nestle USA and Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. have agreed to share production and purchasing operations in order to trim costs.
Over time, Nestle will shift manufacturing of its Libby’s Juicy Juice and Libby’s Kerns Nectars to Ocean Spray facilities, the companies said Friday.
The two companies will pool their resources to buy raw ingredients, such as sugar, packaging materials and other supplies and are talking about sharing warehousing, transportation and other resources.
No jobs are expected to be lost as a result, a Nestle spokeswoman said.
“By bringing Nestle’s juice production into our plants and joining forces with them on purchasing and distribution, we will establish an economy of scale that will boost the profitability of both companies,” said Ocean Spray president and chief operating officer Randy Papadellis.
The alliance makes sense, especially for Ocean Spray, which saw its single serving juice box business decline by 66 percent in 2001, said John Sicher, editor of Beverage Digest, a trade publication.
