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Auckland-based Frucor Beverages has bought the assets and brands of the Arano juice business.
Frucor chief executive Carl Bergstrom today said the Arano business was bought from its founders, John and Cath Tollemache.
They had started Arano in the early 1980s squeezing oranges from their Gisborne orchard and delivering the fresh juice to restaurants and other outlets around Auckland, he said.
Nowadays Arano operated from a factory in Kumeu, on Auckland's western outskirts, and had a network of franchisees around the country.
Its products included orange and other fruit juices, fruit and yoghurt smoothies and vegetable juices.
Mr Bergstrom said the deal gave Frucor, a fully-owned subsidiary of French multinational Danone, the capability to make and distribute short shelf life chilled products and increased its distribution in the hospitality sector.
Frucor's brands include Just Juice, Fresh Up, McCoy, Citrus Tree, V, Mizone, and H2Go.
The deal will be effective from August 6.
In 2005 listed juice company Charlie's carried out extended due diligence on Arano but decided not to buy it.
Earlier Charlie's announced it had entered into three separate conditional agreements to buy the component businesses and brands associated with Arano. The purchase would have cost $4.65 million in cash and 6 million Charlie's shares.
- NZPA
