Slovenia's best-known mineral water brand loses PepsiCo licence

Radenska, the bottler of Slovenia's best-known mineral water brand, will lose its PepsiCo licence at the end of the year, a development that comes amid speculation that its Czech owner, the Kofola group, might be preparing to sell the Radenci-based beverage maker.

Boasting a 200-year history, Radenska is a household name in Slovenia and the wider region and its flagship brand has long been synonymous with sparkling water in Slovenia.

It has been owned by Kofola since 2015, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.

The company has been bottling and distributing the US drinks giant's soft drinks Pepsi, 7Up and Mirinda since 1990. The licence agreement expires at the end of the year and it is unclear why it has not been extended, the newspaper Večer reported.

Workers worry about jobs

While its Czech owner says the change will not affect the group significantly, Radenska CEO Marian Šefčovič said in a message to employees last week the company was facing a demanding period and tough business decisions.

The trade union has not made an official statement, but the message raised concerns about layoffs among the roughly 250 Radenska employees.

There is speculation among them that Kofola wants to transfer the PepsiCo licence to some of its other companies. Workers also claim that Kofola has started using Radenska's iced tea recipe and is planning to move the production of Oaza flavoured water to a facility in Czechia.

The Večer report also mentions speculation that Kofola might be getting ready to sell Radenska.

Impact of licence loss unclear

Kofola CEO Jannis Samaris described the PepsiCo cooperation as a low-margin business that accounted for only a few percent of the group's revenue.

It is unclear how much of Radenska's revenue stems from the PepsiCo beverages. Economist Aleš Kuhar told Večer the Pepsi cooperation had been good for the Slovenian company's business because the distribution of PepsiCo's beverages opened doors for Radenska's own brands.

Kuhar also said that in the past decade since taking over Radenska, Kofola had proven a good owner. He believes that Radenska is capable of remaining a competitive company in the region based on its own brands alone.

Nevertheless, he warned the company will have to fill up the production capacities left unused after the end of the Pepsi licence.

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