Coca-Cola To Invest EUR 1 Bln In France

(RTTNews) - With a view to expanding its presence in France, where it has been doing business for more than 100 years, Food and beverage giant Coca-Cola Co. (KO), during the Choose France Summit, announced 1 billion euros of investments in the country over the next five years.

Coca-Cola Chairman and CEO James Quincey and President Emmanuel Macron is scheduled to elaborate on the plans during a meeting on September 20 in the frame of the Summit.

As part of the investment, Coca-Cola will join with its primary bottling partner in the country, Coca-Cola European Partners or CCEP, to introduce new products in the French market. The companies will expand bottling capacity and modernize CCEP's manufacturing plants. The investment will also be used for innovations and support of company brands.

The companies are also planning to support the hosting of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Coca-Cola and the IOC in July 2019 had extended their partnership.

Coca-Cola's share of the latest investment will be as much as 500 million euros in a combination of media, brand experiences or strategic partnerships.

CCEP, which has invested 350 million euros in the country since 2013, has now set aside 500 million euros to strengthen its production and distribution network in the country.

CCEP will invest in the plant in Socx (Dunkerque) to equip the site with an aseptic bottling line in mid-2020 to meet the increasing consumer demand for Fuze Tea, its ready-to-drink tea brand, as well as for Tropico juice.

Investments will be made to all five CCEP plants in France to enable the introduction of a higher quantity of recycled material in bottles and cans. The company will also replace plastic by cardboard for secondary packaging. CCEP will also invest in new cooling equipment for its customers.

Coca-Cola further confirmed its intent to accelerate its entry into new categories.

France's 2020 edition of the Choose France Summit is taking place at the Palace of Versailles, with attendance of around 150 foreign CEOs.