Nestlé Canada Inc. is selling its Nestlé Pure Life bottled water business to Ice River Springs. The sale is contingent on completion of the regulatory review process and the deal is expected to close in the third quarter of this year.

“In late 2019, we began the exploration of a potential sale of our Nestlé Pure Life business in Canada, as we had determined that we are best positioned to focus on our iconic international brands of San Pellegrino, Perrier and Acqua Panna,” says Jeff Hamilton, president and CEO of Nestlé Canada Inc. “We are pleased that Ice River Springs, a local Canadian company with a focus on sustainability, has agreed to purchase this business.”

This is a purely Canadian sale and the Canadian Nestlé Pure Life business is now independent of the North American strategic review that was announced a few weeks ago.

The acquisition of the Nestlé Pure Life branded business fulfills a strategic ambition of Ice River Springs to expand the company’s offering in Canada beyond private label. The sale includes two factories in Puslinch, Ont., and Hope, B.C., along with a well in Erin, Ont.

Ice River Springs is a Canadian family-owned, private-label bottled water producer for retailers and manufacturer of the Ice River Green brand of bottled water. With a diverse portfolio of companies committed to sustainability, the company runs a plastics recycling operation, BMP Recycling, that takes bottles and plastic food packaging collected by municipalities and produces food-grade recycled PET plastic.

“This is a significant step in our strategic sustainability journey and with the addition of this iconic brand, their skilled and dedicated people across the country and the resources of this business, we will continue our commitment to sustainable bottled water, the circular economy and to hydrating Canadians,” says Sandy Gott, executive vice-president and co-owner of Ice River Springs.

Read the full and original article at FoodInCanada.com