With companies focusing their efforts on where they expect growth, beverage manufacturing investments set the scene for years to come. Additionally, technological advancements in automation and production efficiency are attracting significant capital, as are investments in sustainability.
Anheuser-Busch: $14m in Houston Brewery
Anheuser-Busch has invested $14m in its Houston brewery: a site described as a ‘cornerstone’ of the company’s US operations since 1966.
The company – which makes Michelob ULTRA, Budweiser and Bud Light – has invested nearly $2bn in 120 facilities across the country over the last five years. It employs around 65,000 people in the country.
Key highlights of the upgrades in Houston will include:
- Facility upgrades to maintain industry-leading quality standards and maximize efficiency
- Updates to the critical manufacturing equipment that makes our beer production possible
- Replacing plant infrastructure, including the roof of the warehouse, elevators, and doors
- Installing new air rinsers on can lines in order to reduce water usage
- Upgrading wireless, fiber and copper network connectivity
Diageo: $120m in China distillery
Beer and spirits giant Diageo has unveiled the YunTuo 云拓Single Malt Whisky Distillery in Eryuan County, Yunnan Province.
With an investment of $120m (RMB 800 million) that will span nine years, the YunTuo云拓Single Malt Whisky Distillery is Diageo’s first whisky production site in China and thus a ‘significant milestone’ for the company in the country.
The name ‘YúnTuò’ 云拓 expresses the brand’s natural surroundings and vision; ‘Yún’ (云) meaning ‘clouds’ and synonymous with ‘Yunnan’, evokes a highland of unparalleled natural beauty. ‘Tuò’ (拓) meaning ‘exploration’ captures the brand’s spirit of enterprise and innovation to explore new frontiers in the art of whisky making.
At 2,100 metres above sea level, the distillery benefits from a temperate climate and access to fresh spring water – giving the brand the raw materials to innovate with.
Designed by architects OLI, the new distillery incorporates local cultural elements and also features a visitors center.
The YunTuo 云拓 distillery is 100% carbon neutral thanks to sustainable production technologies such as highly efficient electric boilers, and the sourcing of renewable green energy. All production water is recycled for industrial purposes, maximising water use efficiencies and reducing waste.
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners: $52m in Wakefield
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP), the world’s largest independent bottler of Coca-Cola, has announced a planned investment of £42.3m for a new Automated Storage Retrieval System (ASRS) warehouse at its site in Wakefield in the UK.
The site is Europe’s largest soft drinks plant by volume.
The new ASRS will take two and a half years to build. To maximise space, it will stand at 38 metres tall and will increase Wakefield’s warehouse capacity, allowing it to hold and move an additional 29,500 pallets on top of its current capacity of 29,000 pallets. It will also deliver a reduction of 18,500 vehicle journeys per year from the road, equating to 441,000 km per year.
This funding follows a £31m site investment for the installation of a new state-of-the-art, canning line, capable of producing 2,000 cans per minute, which has been operational since July of this year. The line provides additional production capabilities for CCEP’s light-weight 330ml cans across brands including Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Fanta, Dr Pepper and Sprite.
The site has received £103 million in investment since 2019 to enhance efficiencies and operate more sustainably, such as the replacement of its material handling equipment (MHE). This includes a fleet of 75 gas-powered forklift trucks, which is used to move cases of product around the site, replaced with units powered by lithium ion batteries, producing no carbon emissions in their day-to-day operation.
Coca-Cola Beverages Florida: $10m to expand Ocala operations
Coca-Cola Beverages Florida has officially opened its new Ocala Sales and Distribution Center.
The 28,000 square foot facility represents a $10m investment by Coke Florida, and creates a permanent hub for the company’s local operations.
The company’s Ocala operations serve customers throughout Marion, Sumter, Citrus, Hernando, and Lake counties, delivering over 2 million units of Coca-Cola products and partner brands annually.
The facility will enhance Coke Florida’s distribution and service capabilities.
Coca-Cola Beverages Africa: $40m in Namibia facility
Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) has invested in a new bottling line at its facility in Namibia.
The new bottling line can produce 27,000 bottles per hour, and the upgrade will increase the plant’s output capacity by 30%.
PepsiCo: €2.4m in solar energy in Ireland
Marking the 50th anniversary of the Little Island manufacturing facility in Ireland, PepsiCo has completed a €2.4m rooftop solar panel installation project at the site.
The installation is made up of over 3,400 individual solar panels. The solar PV system has added 1625kVA generation capacity to the plant which, while running during peak summer months, will have the capability to meet 100% of the plant’s requirements.The system will deliver over 20% of the plant’s annual electricity demand.
The roof mounted installation covers 6,800 square meters, which is around 40% of the plant’s total roof area.
Heineken: €45m in new global R&D center in the Netherlands
Heineken has started constructing the new D. H.P. Heineken Centre, a R&D center in Zoeterwoude.
The R&D Center will develop new products as well as improve existing products and processes.
Covering an area of 8,800m2, it will employ staff from12 countries to work on innovation with brands such as Heineken, Desperados and Amstel. It is located next to the largest brewery in Europe and near the Delft University of Technology, creating an idea environment for innovation.
Previous successes developed in Zoeterwoude include alcohol-free Heineken 0.0, the Draught Keg, and the horizontal fermentation system that creates Heineken’s distinctive flavor. Zoeterwoude is also where the company works on sustainability initiatives, such as installing the sector’s first large-scale e-boiler.
The new facility will include office space, laboratories, a model service center and sensory research and packaging development departments.
It will be part of Heineken’s global R&D network, which includes hubs in Mexico, South Africa and Southeast Asia.
Besides the TU Delft, Heineken has partnerships with universities around the world, such as Wageningen University & Research, University of Cork (Ireland), Stellenbosch (South Africa), UANL and Monterey Tech (Mexico).
The center is named after Dr. Henry Pierre Heineken (1886-1971), a doctor of chemistry. With both a deep knowledge of chemistry and sharp business acumen, he became the first successor to Heineken founder Gerard Adriaan Heineken and his wife, Mary Tindal, in 1914.
Electrolit: $400m in Texas manufacturing
Electrolit – a premium hydration beverage – has announced its first U.S. manufacturing facility with a $400m state-of-the-art site in Waco, Texas.
Electrolit entered the U.S. market a decade ago, and is now expanding across North America with a partnership with Keurig Dr Pepper on sales and distribution.
The 600,000-square-foot greenfield project is a build-to-suit facility and is set to open in early 2026.
The site will have the capacity to incorporate non-virgin and recycled packaging materials when available, complying with the state’s plastic usage regulations. Rail infrastructure will be used to distribute finished products from the site, reducing carbon emissions.
Celsius: $75m on Big Beverages Contract Manufacturing facilities
Celsius Holdings – the company behind premium lifestyle energy drink Celsius – has gained a modern 170,000 square foot beverage manufacturing facility and production line and warehouse through its acquisition of Big Beverages Contract Manufacturing L.L.C.
Charlotte, N.C.-based Big Beverages is a longtime Celsius co-packer, and the facility will continue to be principally dedicated to the manufacture of Celsius products. The facility also comes with room for future expansion as Celsius continues to grow.
But Celsius says the acquisition will also give it greater supply chain control, quicker innovation cycles and greater production flexibility. That, in particular, will benefit limited time offer (LTO) products.
Coca-Cola Nigeria: $1bn in Nigeria
The Coca-Cola System in Nigeria – namely Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited and bottler Nigeria Bottling Company – will accelerate investments in Nigeria to reach $1bn over the next five years.
Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company – known locally as Nigeria Bottling Company – has already invested $1.5bn in Nigeria over the last 10 years. The new investment will effectively double its rate of investment in the coming years.
