Italian food-and-drinks group NewPrinces is dipping its toe into energy drinks, with the launch of a brand called Spartan in its home market.
In a post on LinkedIn, the fruit juices and soft drinks maker said the energy drinks line is being sold through Carrefour stores in Italy.
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NewPrinces struck a deal to acquire Carrefour’s operations in the country last year, as part of what it then described as “vertical integration between production and distribution”.
The deal gave NewPrinces, which is one of Italy’s largest food manufacturers, ownership of over 1,000 stores in the country.
Spartan is available in an “original” and sugar-free version, and is “enriched with vitamin B6 and a source of vitamin B12”, the group said in its social media post.
“This launch is not an isolated episode, but a piece within our growth strategy: a path that enhances our industrial skills, expands the product portfolio and strengthens the vertical integration between production capacity, brands and the retail network,” NewPrinces added.
The group said the Spartain line is produced at its facility in Santa Vittoria d’Alba, where its Princes Ready to Drink subsidiary sits.
NewPrinces agreed to snap up the facility in the Piedmont region from Diageo last year. The site had previously been set to close.
The purchase of the Diageo Operations Italy business was completed in October, and was renamed Princes Ready to Drink.
Newlat Food acquired Princes Group from Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp. in May 2024 for £700m. Following the deal, the company renamed itself NewPrinces.
According to research from GlobalData, Just Drinks‘ parent, the energy drinks market in Italy is expected to reach $878.8m in value this year and $1.1bn in value by 2029.
