Food and Beverages Industry
Coca Cola HBC, Greece
ABOUT COCA-COLA HBC
- Coca-Cola HBC has operated in Serbia since 1997, representing the largest foreign investment at that time.
- Being the company which operates locally, Coca-Cola HBC believes in future development of Serbia.
WHY SERBIA?
- For us, Serbiarepresents a dynamic, fast growing market, with a great potential for further progress. Significant commitment to the local operations has been confirmed by recent acquisitions, aligned with our strategy to expand our range of non-alcoholic beverages.
SERBIA-EXPERIENCE
- Since 1997, Coca-Cola HBC has been constantly investing in Serbia trough increasing production capacities and intensifying business operations to meet growing and changing consumer needs. At the moment, the company produces as many as 58 SCUs, compared to 15 back in 1997.
- There is an enormous improvement in the investment climate since 1997 in Serbia, still, we believe that further economic stability and faster legislative changes toward EU succession are prerequisite to secure and accelerate the existing growth trend. During 2005, we have acquired Vlasinka, as one of the leading local water producers, and one of the top juice producers Fresh & Co.
FUTURE PLANS
- Having ambitious plans in Serbia, we expect further growth in all AFB categories as the main areas of our company's expertise.
RECOMMENDATIONS
- Serbia is in the early transition period, but a fast growing one, with a lot of opportunities for investors. The economy has been stabilized over the recent years, and more security for foreign investors has been provided. Purchasing power is increasing, consumption per capita is growing, and gray market impact is drastically decreased.
- There are a lot of opportunities to exploit, especially for sourcing quality raw materials and entering new markets. Also, Serbia has high potential people resources, coming from quality education and current increase of repatriation. All of this, together with highly developed consumer habits, gives me confidence that this market could be one of the most attractive markets in the region.
