Dive Brief:
- Coca-Cola is investing up to $650 million to update and expand production at its Fairlife facility in Michigan, according to a Tuesday news release.
- The investment at its Cooperstown manufacturing plant will add 245,000 square feet of production space and create 150 additional jobs, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation said in a statement.
- Fairlife, which produces ultra-filtered, lactose-free milk, protein and nutrition shakes, has been located at the Cooperstown facility since 2012. It employs more than 400 people. Facility updates will help production keep up with consumer demand as the brand sees "significant growth," the press release said.
Dive Insight:
Since it was acquired in 2020, Fairlife has been a point of growth for Coca-Cola, surpassing the $1 billion sales threshold four years ago. The brand, which touts higher protein and less sugar than traditional milk, has benefited from more consumers seeking out healthier options.
At Citi’s Global Consumer and Retail Conference earlier this month, Coca-Cola President and CFO John Murphy said the beverage giant plans to invest in other Fairlife facilities during the next three to five years to increase production capacity by 30%.
The investment in Michigan adds two additional production lines that are expected to be operational in 2028, according to a Coca-Cola press release. Construction will begin later this year.
The Michigan expansion is in addition to a separate $650 million Fairlife facility in upstate New York, which is scheduled to open this year.
Murphy cited Fairlife as an example of how Coca-Cola uses innovation to get closer to a broad consumer set. The brand also has a nutrition portfolio in addition to its protein shakes and milk.
“You cannot … sit on the laurels of what you've accomplished to date, but it's a pretty darn good place to start from,” Murphy said of Fairlife. “And as we go forward, I would see the innovation opportunity in this category to be quite strong.”
