Reignwood Group, the parent company of Red Bull China, has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Octopus Group, a Singapore-based company that specialises in the import, distribution and marketing of beverages in Southeast Asia. The deal, signed on 19 February 2019, granted Octopus the exclusive rights to distribute the high-end water brand VOSS in Southeast Asia. VOSS is majority owned by Reignwood.
Both parties will set up VOSS Water SEA and Reignwood Octopus Spirits Company to manufacture, produce, market and distribute VOSS Water in Southeast Asia, as well as the production, bottling, importation, marketing and distribution of alcoholic products in China.
VOSS bottled water comes from an artesian source in a sparsely populated area on the southern tip of Norway.
The partnership with Octopus to penetrate the Southeast Asia market comes at a time when VOSS is facing weaker-than-expected sales. The company sold 4.5 million bottles of VOSS in 2017 but higher sales have not materialised to absorb all the extra capacity following a recent production capacity expansion. As a result, the company had to lay off 65 out of 100 production workers at its production plant in Agder, reported newsinenglish.no.
In Southeast Asia, having Octopus as a partner will help VOSS to tap into both on- and off-trade opportunities especially in the premium water space in the foodservice sector.
