CARTERSVILLE, Ga.
German botanicals giant Martin Bauer Group acquired U.S. liquid tea concentrate and ready-to-drink manufacturer Beverage House Inc. this week.
The Cartersville, Ga.-based Beverage House, Inc. has pioneered the development and production of tea concentrates since 1984. The firm produces a wide range of premium beverage concentrates in various packaging configurations for regional and national brands in food service and retail. Annual volume exceeds one billion servings.
“This acquisition brings together Martin Bauer Group’s expertise in teas, extracts and botanicals and Beverage House’s expertise in the formulation, processing and packaging of premium beverage concentrates in order to expand the scope of our product offerings in the North American Market,” says Albert Ferstl, Managing Director of the Martin Bauer Group in Germany.
The market for tea concentrates and ready-to-drink tea is expanding. According to the Tea Association of the USA, around 80 percent of the 270 million pounds of tea imported annually is consumed as fresh brewed ice tea. More than half of that volume is brewed in traditional industrial brewing machines and sold in various foodservice outlets. Fast-serve and family restaurants like the convenience of concentrates as there is no training of staff, no messy brewing, no leaves to discard, you don't make more than you need and use only what you sell. The biggest challenge in replacing brewed leaf systems with a liquid concentrate is guality.
Concentrates are a perfect fit for Bauer because Beverage House has developed technology that allows an authentic tasting tea that is difficult to tell apart from brewed tea. Beverage House gains access to Martin Bauer's global resources in raw materials sourcing, processing technology and research and development. This will lead to the introduction of other natural botanicals besides tea.
The strategic acquisition gives Martin Bauer “a production base in the U.S., local product development, and application expertise in liquid as well as dry formats that will allow us to incorporate our vast assortment of tea and botanical ingredients into new and innovative beverage concepts for the U.S. customers,” says Richard Enticott, President & CEO of Martin Bauer Inc, the Group’s U.S. subsidiary.
“We are very excited about the future following the acquisition” says Jim Gollhofer, President and CEO of Beverage House, Inc., “this represents a significant move forward for us and our customers.”
Martin Bauer Group is a family-owned international manufacturer and supplier of tea, extracts and botanical products going back more than 135 years.
The firm manufactures an extensive range of botanical ingredients and services to the food and beverage, dietary supplement, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. Martin Bauer is a division of the nature network® which employs more than 3,000 people in 15 countries worldwide. The network gives clients direct access to one of the most valuable sources of knowledge and expertise within the world of fruits, herbs, and teas.
Beverage House is privately held. Details of the transaction were not released.