Beginning in 2012, the Coca-Cola Co., Inc. will invest $4 billion in China over a three-year period for new infrastructure and capabilities, partnerships, brand building and the development of new products, according to an article on rttnews.com.
Since 1979, when it returned to China, Coke has invested more than $5 billion there, with much of that investment coming in the last three years, when Coke and its Chinese bottling partners, Swire Beverages Ltd. and COFCO Coca-Cola Beverage Co., Ltd. put more than $3 billion into the market.
With China now accounting for seven percent of Coke’s global consumption, the company now has 41 bottling plants in China, five of which were opened during 2009-2010 and another in 2011. In the first half of 2011, Coca-Cola’s sales in China topped 1 billion unit cases, which doubled the company’s sales rate there five years ago, according to an article in industryweek.com. The new investments in China will help Coke achieve its goal of doubling system revenues and servings by 2020.
But with China’s large population and an ever expanding global market, Coke isn’t the only Cola company expanding there. In May 2010, PepsiCo Inc. announced that it would make a $2.5 billion investment in China over three years, where it will manufacture beverages and snacks, as well as establish new farms for potatoes and oats.