Coca-Cola to Invest R$380 Million in First Crystal Water Plant in South Brazil: Neuri Pereira

• The Coca-Cola Company and Coca-Cola Femsa are investing R$380 million in South Brazil
• The first Crystal mineral water plant in the area will be financed by the investment
• The Antônio Prado municipality is where the plant will be situated

According to Neuri Pereira, director of new business at Coca-Cola Femsa Brasil, the company and The Coca-Cola Company are spending R$380 million to build their first specific Crystal mineral water plant in southern Brazil. Purchasing the local business Bamboo and its Antônio Prado production facility is part of this investment.

In order to increase the plant's output sixfold in two years, the deal also includes financing capacity expansion and buying an adjacent plot of land. In Brazil, the market for bottled water is growing quickly. According to the Brazilian Association of Mineral Water Industries (Abinam), the country used 36 billion liters in 2024, a 20 percent increase from the year before. Brazil's per capita consumption, at about 175 liters, is still less than the European average of 250 liters annually, even with this increase.

Small regional players control the majority of the market, which is fragmented. Minalba, a Ceará-based business owned by Grupo Edson Queiroz, which also owns the São Lourenço brand it acquired from Nestlé Waters in 2018, is one of the main competitors. There are currently just two Crystal bottling facilities in Brazil, and they are both in São Paulo, at Bauru and Mogi das Cruzes.

Fountain Água Mineral Ltda., a joint venture between Coca-Cola Femsa and The Coca-Cola Company, was used to acquire Bamboo in order to increase their market share in the mineral water industry.

"The challenge was locating a water source with features comparable to those in São Paulo," she continued. Pereira clarified that while other Latin American nations, which frequently lack plentiful mineral water sources, rely more on mineralized (treated) water, Brazil's bottled water market is almost exclusively focused on mineral water. In Brazil, unaltered mineral water must be bottled right at the source. "Brazil's consumption of bottled water is increasing, but it is still lower than that of other nations in the region," she said.

It is anticipated that the new plant will begin operations under Coca-Cola management in August after the acquisition. Ms. Pereira said, "The Company’s strategy is to get closer to consumer markets, but we could have expanded the plants in São Paulo." Crystal water for southern Brazil will be produced at the new facility.

Coca-Cola Femsa Brasil's yearly Crystal production capacity will rise by 27 percent after the plant expansion is finished, which should happen in 18 to 24 months. Compared to Bamboo's prior use, the new location's water well has a substantially larger capacity.

This joint investment in the new Crystal plant adds to the R$886 million that Coca-Cola Femsa has already invested in Rio Grande do Sul. One notable investment was the reopening of its Porto Alegre plant, which was severely damaged by flooding in May 2024. All six production lines were fully operational by the end of March this year after limited production resumed in November after the floodwaters subsided after 30 days.

In 2025, the Coca-Cola System companies intend to invest R$7 billion in Brazil, a 75 percent increase from the year before, with the goal of increasing production capacity in response to the robust demand for their beverage portfolio.