Germany: Oetker Group focus increasingly on the German beer market

German food conglomerate Oetker Group rid itself of most of its non-alcoholic drink lines and will focus increasingly on the German beer market, the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported last week. The company with headquarters in Bielefeld has sold soda brand Vita Cola and five mineral water lines to domestic competitor Hassia AG.

Sales of the six brands were an estimated $104 million, the newspaper said. The deal costs Hassia roughly $53 million, much less than previously expected, the FAZ said.

Oetker wants to focus on its already successful beer business -- it owns roughly 160 brands, including popular beers such as Radeberger, Clausthaler and Schoefferhofer.