CONSUMER firm Unilever hopes to widen the reach of its Lipton ice tea in the UK after agreeing on a joint venture with Pepsi.
Unilever revealed its plans yesterday, which include using Pepsi's bottling and distribution network in an effort to gain access to markets where the product currently has no presence.
Lipton, which has a 10.7 per cent share of the £14bn ready-to-drink tea market, is already established in North America through a decade-old venture with Pepsi.
Unilever described the new tie-up - one of the biggest joint ventures set up by the company - as a logical extension of the American relationship.
Patrick Cescau, director of Unilever Foods, said there were plenty of regions for Lipton to move into, although Unilever has not specified where these are.
He said: ''These markets are the next in our planned roll-out and we see Pepsi as the best partner to help us achieve this."
Unilever's other frontline brands include Knorr, Hellmann's, Dove and Surf.
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