Coca-Cola's Irish operations to acquire Dublin-based vending machine company

BDS Vending Solutions sells a range of products including cold beverages, hot beverages, snacks and a limited fresh food assortment and is also active in providing contract catering services to offices and other work environments

General manager of Coca-Cola’s Irish operations Davide Franzetti said BDS would 'provide us with a joint platform to build capabilities in our route-to-market, to offer our customers greater choice and to further enhance our consumer experience'.

Coca-Cola’s Irish operations has announced it has reached an agreement to acquire Dublin-based vending machine company BDS Vending, as it seeks to enhance its route-to-market capabilities.

BDS Vending Solutions operates depots in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Sligo, Limerick and Wexford. 

It sells a range of products including cold beverages, hot beverages, snacks and a limited fresh food assortment.

In addition to its vending services offering, the company is also active in providing contract catering services to offices and other work environments.

General manager of Coca-Cola’s Irish operations Davide Franzetti said BDS would “provide us with a joint platform to build capabilities in our route-to-market, to offer our customers greater choice and to further enhance our consumer experience”.

BDS Vending was founded in 1993 by David Mullan and Brian Berry. In that time, it has grown to operate about 2,000 vending machines.

The two founders will continue to lead the company through the transition period.

The founders said they felt it was “the right time” to join forces with Coca-Cola and “transition our business model to become part of a larger group with a much wider geographic reach”.

“We have worked hard on innovation and our vending offering over the past three decades so bringing this model to the Coca-Cola HBC family will be an exciting journey,” the pair said.

The acquisition is subject to approval by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.