For many of us, the PepsiCo brand is one we all know and love offering a range of beverages from across its international portfolio. These brands include Gatorade, Tropicana, Lipton and of course Pepsi-Cola. The PepsiCo brand is owned by the beverage giant Continental Beverage Corporation (CBC) and utilises localised bottling facilities to ensure that the overarching group can distribute products to meet the production and output needs of the region. This is where Pepsi Cola Jamaica Bottling Company Ltd. comes in, which has spent more than 20 years facilitating the distribution of its diverse beverage portfolio.
When we last caught up with Pepsi Cola Jamaica Bottling Company, the group made a US$2 million investment towards the local production of its Tropicana range. Now, returning to the company almost a year later, more investments have been made with the development of a US$30 million state-of-the-art production line at its existing Kingston bottling plant.
The Pepsi Cola Jamaica Bottling Company provides all bottling services for the Pepsi Cola brand in Jamaica. Through its bottling facility, the plant works to meet the growing demands of the overarching company whilst ensuring that the facility promotes the employment of locals as a priority. The facility has spent 2 decades at the forefront of the beverage distribution industry, with Jamaicans favouring its diverse range of soft drinks and beverages. The final product soft drinks coming off its manufacturing lines are exported to 9 countries across the Caribbean, as well as the UK, US, Belize, and Canada. The company’s manufacturing highlights the ever-growing role manufacturing plays in the goods-producing sector of the region.
This growing role of the Pepsi Cola Jamaica Bottling Company was highlighted in November last year with the opening of a new US$ 30 million state-of-the-art production line to be added to the company’s existing plant on Spanish Town Road in Kingston. The expansion project took 8 months to complete and is projected to increase the production of the bottling facility by over 20% this year. The line will allow the bottling company to continue to expand its product line offerings and bring an even greater spread of beverage options to the people of Jamaica and beyond.
The official opening of the new production line saw Prime Minister Andrew Holness highlight how the new facility line has created numerous job opportunities for the people of Jamaica, which will, once in full operation, contribute towards approximately 20% of the facility’s workforce. He commented, “These jobs are not just statistics; they represent lives and livelihoods. They represent dreams and aspirations fulfilled. They represent economic independence. They represent social mobility. They represent human capital and skills”. The Prime Minister’s comments highlight one of the vital purposes of the Pepsi Cola Jamaica bottling facility; to provide employment opportunities to those across Jamaica for continued personal and local economic development.
The expansion of its product line capacity and subsequent portfolio means that the Pepsi Cola Jamaica Bottling company can take over a larger market share of the Jamaica manufacturing and export markets. The new line will double the existing facilities capacity and mark the bottling company as a regional hub for manufacturing for the PepsiCo corporation. By establishing itself as such a pivotal hub for manufacturing, the bottling facility is hoped to bring continued economic development and with those, investments to Jamaica. These investments will continue to bring economic benefits to the country and allow it to access even wider regional and international markets.
To ensure employment across Jamaica, the company has partnered with the Heart NSTA Trust and the Caribbean Maritime University (CMU) which will provide recent graduates with employment opportunities across the facility. This ensures that employment opportunities stay with locals and sets the bottling up with its next generation of leaders which will take the facility into the future. It is hoped through this investment and partnership, the Pepsi Cols Jamaica Bottling Facility will continue on its path as the leading manufacturing company for PepsiCo in Jamaica and expand its operations to serve even more international markets.
For the Pepsi Cola Jamaica Bottling Facility, there is a real passion for investing in the country and its people. Through key investments over the last few years, the bottling facility is now a leading hub for distribution for the international PepsiCo company. The introduction of a new manufacturing line just highlights the hub that the facility has already established itself as, and as the company continue to grow its operations and expand its beverage portfolio for the future, we look forward to seeing how the bottling facility continues to bring economic benefits to the people and industries of Jamaica first and foremost.
