Britvic

Britvic plc (LSE: BVIC) is a British producer of soft drinks based in Hemel Hempstead. It is the number two soft drinks producer (by volume and retail sales value) in the United Kingdom. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. It produces soft drinks under its own name and holds the license to sell others such as Pepsi in the UK.

History

The company was founded in the mid-nineteenth century in Chelmsford as the British Vitamin Products Company. It started producing fruit juices in 1938 and started marketing them under the Britvic name in 1949.

Acquired by Showerings of Shepton Mallet, and subsequently a division of Allied Breweries from 1968, the company changed its name to Britvic in 1971. In 1986 it merged with Canada Dry Rawlings and acquired the R. White's Lemonade brand. It acquired Tango and the Corona brand from Beechams in 1987 and since that year it has also owned the UK franchise for Pepsi and 7 Up. In 1995 it bought Robinson's from Reckitt & Colman.