The world’s largest soft-drinks producer aims to make a big investment in
Latin American markets with a USD billion-plus investment strategy in Chile. The Atlanta based beverage giant, whose brand is the world’s most recognizable, has laid out a 5-year plan that will see major development in their distribution strategy, as well as significant investments into sustainability projects. The company has already made progress by building a new $200 million bottling plant for Embotelladora Andina. Andina made headlines earlier in 2012 by merging with Embotelladora Polar, ranked #374 on the Latin Target 500 list, making it Coca Cola’s second-largest partner in the region.
Coca-Cola has a history as a dominant player in the Latin American market as represented by Fomento Economico Mexicano (FMX), which owns 53.7% of Coca-Cola FEMSA, ranked #61 on the Latin Target 500 and valued at $8,941.7 million. The combined partnership of both FEMSA and FMX makes it the world’s second largest bottler of Coke products; a statistic not lost on the people behind the company’s newest Chilean investment plans. In fact, shares of FEMSA have even exceeded those of the American beverage maker in the past year, making a whopping $14,557.7 million, as compared to Coca-Cola USA, which posted $4,690.0 million over the same time frame.
What are Coca-Cola’s investment goals with Andina?
According to Coca-Cola Andina President Juan Claro:
“This new plant is aligned with the vision we have at Coca-Cola Andina to be a benchmark of sustainability – a very attractive company with sustainable development and innovation. We want to make a difference as a company that cares about providing a quality work environment, cares about the environment, contributes to the country and to the community, and focuses on efficiency in the growth of our production, marketing and logistics.”
Sustainability seems to be the name of the game across the board, and Coca Cola believes that within this sustainability concept, it will not only lead the way in responsible business practices in the region, but turn a healthy profit as well.
Why Chile?
Simple. In the past few years, Chile has transformed itself into a power
ful center for business development and international trade. With limited trade regulations and business development potential ranking amongst the most favorable in Latin America, Chile is a prime location to tackle the regional market, especially in neighboring southern cone states like Argentina and Brazil. With the growth of Andina, as well as Embotelladora Polar, Coca-Cola can vastly expand production in an area that’s already “thirsty” for industrial growth.
Coca-Cola’s $1.3 billion investment into the South American nation is a good sign for other companies looking to invest in there. Stable, sustained growth, something that had long eluded many Latin American nations, appears to be on the horizon for Chile, which is going through their biggest economic boom in decades. And the market for consumer goods in the greater region appears ready to explode, with both the World Cup and Olympics coming to Brazil in the next few years.
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