Craig Cotton wants to move Charlie's to the next level. Photo / Greg Bowker
Juice-maker Charlie's is rolling out some big changes at it prepares for its next phase of growth - including a possible expansion into alcoholic drinks - nearly two years on from the company's sale to Japanese brewing giant Asahi.
In March, the company moved its head office from Henderson, where
its manufacturing plant is located, to Parnell's Axis Building.
Today the firm - which delisted from the NZX after the $129.3 million Asahi takeover - will change its name from Charlie's to The Better Drinks Co. Products will still bear the Charlie's and Phoenix branding.
Chief executive Craig Cotton, a former national sales manager at Coca-Cola Amatil who took the helm at the juice firm in October, said the company was a teenager preparing to move into its adulthood.
"That's what changing the company name was all about - it's part of that journey of being bigger than just Charlie's," Cotton said. "We've been pretty damn good but this is about taking it to the next level and being a lot better." He said "being better" involved assessing the calorie content in products and lowering sugar levels, partly through the use of natural, lower-calorie sweeteners.
