International food and drink group, Princes has agreed to a landmark partnership with Capri-Sun Group Holding AG to produce over 250 million Capri-Sun juice pouches annually at the Group’s production facility in Bradford, UK.
This follows Capri-Sun’s recent move to bring sales and distribution in-house after a long-term relationship with Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP). To meet increased demand, the Princes contract with Capri-Sun will involve transferring four production lines from CCEP to Princes Bradford, creating around 50-60 new jobs in the area. Production will begin in autumn 2024, and all lines will be fully operational by spring 2025. To ensure a smooth transition from CCEP, Princes have already started supporting Capri-Sun with warehousing and logistics services.
“We’re incredibly excited to be bringing Capri-Sun pouches to Bradford – the new UK home of this iconic and much-loved brand,” said Andy Hargraves, Group Commercial Director for Drinks at Prince’s. “Establishing this partnership is a significant milestone in the continued growth of our drinks business, creating around 50-60 new job opportunities in the local area. Princes looks forward to partnering with Capri-Sun to support their ambitions now, and in the future.”
Princes will be co-packing two Capri-Sun formats: 200ml pouches with paper straws and 330ml pouches with a screw cap. As part of the transition, Capri-Sun is moving to recyclable pouches (curbside for 330ml and at large supermarkets for 200ml) and also introducing tethered caps on the 330ml pouches, reducing packaging waste by 14%, to support its ambition of becoming the UK’s most sustainable children’s soft drinks brand.
“We are very excited to enter this collaboration between Princes and Capri-Sun,” added Stefan Seiss at Capri-Sun Group Holding AG. “Over the last months, the supply chain and engineering departments have been working very closely together to prepare for the transition of the production lines into the Bradford site. It is great to see that both sides’ expertise and positive attitude will deliver a new production setup to fulfill the demand and the quality to support the growth of Capri-Sun in Great Britain.”
Bradford is Princes Group’s largest soft drinks production site in the UK, with around 400 colleagues and 8 production lines for dilutes, carbonates, and ready-to-drink products. It is a center of excellence for dilute-to-taste squash and juice drinks for many retailer labels and the pioneer of innovations, including double and quadruple-strength squash. The site is also a leading producer of customers’ own carbonated soft drinks and ready-to-drink small bottles.
Capri-Sun Group Holding AG is a privately held company (owned by Hans-Peter Wild) that encompasses Capri-Sun, the top kids’ drink brand worldwide. Capri-Sun was launched in 1969 and now sells more than 6 billion pouches in over 100 countries yearly.
