Coca-Cola Femsa will invest $200m in expanding its operations in Brazil, as it continues to seek to recover from faltering market performance.
The Central and South American bottler – already the country’s largest in the soft drinks sector – will focus on improving its logistics, distribution, production lines and plant automation in two states close to the city of São Paulo.
The announcement was made less than a week after it reported flatlining fourth-quarter growth of just 0.3%, made worse by a decline in several regional currencies such as the Mexican peso and Venezuelan bolivar. The investment, combined with a new tax regime for beverages beginning in May, could help Coca-Cola Femsa recover its position within the decelerating Brazilian beverage market.
Coca-Cola Femsa executive Jose Ramon Martinez told a Brazilian newspaper: “We will keep the focus on developing packaging with different sizes, like minipets and family size bottles, providing the most attractive price to consumers.”
“Even with this change, there is still much to do. The tax burden in Brazil is very heavy,” he added.
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