Coca-Cola began operations yesterday at a new production facility in Hunan Province, China.
The bottling plant is Coca-Cola's 44th facility in China, but its first in Hunan. There are currently four production lines in operation, but the plant will have nine by 2020. This makes it the largest facility in central China, with an expected annual production capacity of one billion litres.
Investment in China
“China is our third-largest market by volume, and we remain upbeat about the potential for growth throughout the market," said Muhtar Kent, chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola.
"Over the past few years, China’s consumer market has undergone significant structural change and we have continued to invest and adapt to ensure we are best serving our consumers and customers in a fast-changing market.”
Coca-Cola have reportedly invested $41 million in the Hunan plant, as part of a plan to invest $4 billion in China between 2015 and 2017.
"China’s long and stable economic growth provides a great opportunity for sustainable development of the beverages industry," said Zhao Shuanglian, chairman of China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Sarah Harford. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
