Japan's beverage maker Calpis Co said yesterday it has signed a business tie-up agreement with Uni-President Enterprises Corp (統一企業) on chilled-drinks operations.
Under the accord, Calpis and Taiwan Calpis Co, a wholly owned unit of Calpis, will license Calpis brands and technologies to Uni-President, a food and beverages manufacturer.
Uni-President will manufacture chilled drinks for Calpis and sell them in Taiwan by utilizing its own sales network, Calpis said.
A new lactic drink, which the two companies will jointly develop, will start selling in Taiwan this year. Calpis said it expects to sell ¥180 million (NT$51.84 million) for the first year.
Uni-President hs strength in technology, production and sales will help to better establish Calpis brands in Taiwan, Calpis said.
Taiwan's chilled-drinks market has been growing rapidly with 15 percent gain per year. The market is expected to grow to ¥129 billion (NT$37.15 billion) this year, according to Calpis.
Meanwhile, President Chain Store Corp (統一超商), the nation's biggest convenience store operator, said profit in the first half more than doubled to NT$2.06 billion from NT$983 million a year ago, boosted by stake sales and tax rebates, Chief financial officer Fred Chen (陳福唐) said. Sales, reported earlier, climbed 6 percent to NT$37.1 billion.
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