Coca-Cola to invest more in Bangladesh
2018-06-29 16:53:38 / Bangladesh - IPF
The Coca-Cola Company is going to invest more in Bangladesh to expand its footprint, encouraged by growing demand for beverages and steady economic growth of the country, said a top official recently.
“You will come to know about our next plan of investment very soon. We are working on it. We want to invest continuously,” said Tapas Kumar Mondal, managing director of International Beverages Private Ltd (IBPL), Bangladesh, a subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company.
“We will be expanding in all areas, not only in plant but also in the market and portfolio.”
He made the disclosure in an interview with The Daily Star last week on the occasion of Coca-Cola completing one year since setting up its plant in the country to cater to the growing beverage market, estimated to be Tk 2,500-Tk 3,000 crore annually.
One of the top beverage brands in the world, Coca-Cola catered to Bangladesh's market through franchisee and contract packaging before it opened its own plant on January 18, 2017. Abdul Monem Ltd is still its bottler and the local conglomerate also distributes Coca-Cola products in some parts of the country.
Coca-Cola, which has over 500 brands and operates in more than 200 countries, has invested $74 million to establish the plant in Bhaluka, Mymensingh and developed other infrastructure.
IBPL's plant runs two lines producing 600 bottles of Kinley, a drinking water brand of Coca-Cola, and 720 bottles of Coke brands per minute.
Coca-Cola, the second largest player in the carbonated beverage market in Bangladesh after PepsiCo, is a very established company in the country. It employs more than 500 people, while 5,000 more are working with it indirectly.
Since the launch of the bottling plant, the US soft-drink maker has introduced four brands, including Coke Zero and Sprite Zero, and recently launched a spice flavoured drink, locally known as jeera pani.
In the first year of the plant's operation, the company launched Kinley to tap the big bottled water market. Mondal said the company was investing a lot on coolers to deliver chilled products. Other players are also investing.
“The market has capacity to expand. This is a big advantage,” he said, adding that the economic growth and the overall stability also act as an advantage.
“It is a growing economy. You can see the economic indicators have been very positive for the last five years. And it is continuing. So, everybody has got a positive mindset and spending habit is rising.”
Mondal also talked about Coca-Cola's activities under corporate social responsibility. It provides uniforms to nearly 600 school students and has opened a community centre for medical check-ups at the bottling plant area. He shared his experience and views on investing in Bangladesh.
“This is a right place to invest as the economy is growing, income and spending are rising and people are very welcoming. So, you get a good prospect of the overall economy. We have established a plant and we have not faced any hindrance,” he said.
Mondal advised prospective investors to understand Bangladesh and its economy. “How many countries do have such a high rate of economic growth?” he questioned.
Mondal said it was not difficult to get permissions to make the investment for the plant. “If you follow due procedures, you can get it done,” he said, “We got all the licences on time and all of our processes done.”
However, it may take some time to complete all the processes, he said, adding that Coca-Cola has got 29 licences.
The carbonated soft-drink maker has received support from all authorities involved, according to Mondal, who has 29 years of experience in supply chain of products ranging from tyres and paints to beverage.
The Indian national has been working in Bangladesh since July 2009 and is full of praise of the country and its people.
“After I arrived in Dhaka and checked in a hotel, I came to realise that this place is amazing. People are warm and very welcoming and this hospitality is beyond my expectation. I didn't feel that I was away from home.”
Mondal said he had initially faced challenges in hiring people. He said many had refused to appear in interviews saying this could not be Coca-Cola Company since interviews were taking place in a hotel.
“At that time, people did not believe that I am from Coca-Cola Company. From that challenging moment we have now become a full-blown company,” he said.
Read more: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/coca-cola-invest-more-bangladesh-1525339
更多最新消息
- 【2024 臺灣輔具暨長期照護大展】團體參觀申請,即刻開放 ATLife 臺灣輔具暨長期照護大展 / 2024-04-18 16:09:40
- 2024 etouch 綠色裝潢設計獎 Touch Taiwan系列展 - 智慧顯示展覽會 / 2024-04-16 09:55:24
- 2024 ATLife 免費預先登錄開放中,立即申請享快速入場! ATLife 臺灣輔具暨長期照護大展 / 2024-04-03 14:10:57
- 【2024 ATLife】導盲志工服務,開放申請中 ATLife 臺灣輔具暨長期照護大展 / 2024-04-03 14:10:37
- 更新獲獎名單!🥐展期烘焙賽事精彩對決🍰 TIBS 台北國際烘焙暨設備展 / 2024-03-19 17:27:59
- 2024 TIBS展位設計大賞 得獎名單出爐🔥🔥🔥 TIBS 台北國際烘焙暨設備展 / 2024-03-15 09:16:44
- 烘焙展首屆▶︎亞洲烘焙二代高峰論壇 TIBS 台北國際烘焙暨設備展 / 2024-03-08 15:58:10
- 台日專家聯手評選「ATLife 2024臺灣長照租賃輔具精品獎」 (參展報名截止3/15) ATLife 臺灣輔具暨長期照護大展 / 2024-03-05 13:24:58
- 首屆Intelligent Asia Thailand登泰 打造當地PCB與電子製造產業鏈全新交流平台 PCB & EME Thailand / 2024-02-29 11:18:22
- 【2024台灣烘焙大賞-潛力獎】決賽入圍名單出爐! TIBS 台北國際烘焙暨設備展 / 2024-02-06 10:57:16
- 宅烘焙達人報名看過來! TIBS 台北國際烘焙暨設備展 / 2024-01-29 14:38:50
- 烘焙證照有夠罩🥐申請專屬免費門票! TIBS 台北國際烘焙暨設備展 / 2024-01-29 14:37:52
- 【2024年首波贈票】 TIBS 台北國際烘焙暨設備展 / 2024-01-24 10:55:20
- ANEX 2024 徵展開跑,展位熱烈報名中 ANEX 亞洲不織布展覽暨會議 / 2023-12-28 13:38:44
- 台灣不織布公會赴泰國曼谷參加2023臺泰產業鏈結高峰論壇,攜ANEX2024進軍東南亞 ANEX 亞洲不織布展覽暨會議 / 2023-12-28 13:38:36
- ANEX 2024 前進亞洲香港不織布研討會(ANFA) ANEX 亞洲不織布展覽暨會議 / 2023-12-28 13:38:28
- 台灣不織布公會簡理事長登日本不織布情報 分享台灣經驗與推廣ANEX2024 ANEX 亞洲不織布展覽暨會議 / 2023-12-28 13:38:20
- 2023 世界盃咖啡紀念品套組預購截止! 現場領貨注意事項! 台灣飲食系列展 - 台灣國際咖啡展 / 2023-11-16 21:05:22
- 一年一度【臺北國際廚藝挑戰賽】 等你來觀賽! 台灣飲食系列展 - 台灣國際食品暨設備展 / 2023-11-14 18:07:50
- 「2024台灣機器人與智慧自動化展 \ 2024台北國際自動化工業大展( 2024 Tairos \ Automation Taipei)」自8/1起開始接受報名 Intelligent Asia - 台灣機器人與智慧自動化展 / 2023-11-14 10:11:24