Coca-Cola Investing $85 Million to Build New Dairy Production Facility in Canada

Coca-Cola will be making an $85 million investment to build a new dairy production facility in Peterborough, Ontario. Additionally, Canada is the first international market for fairlife dairy products. Canadians will be the first outside of the U.S. to try this new innovative milk product. Image: Coca-Cola Canada

Coca-Cola and fairlife, LLC, are excited to share that fairlife Ultrafiltered Milk is coming to Canada by the end of 2018! Additionally, Coca-Cola will be making an $85 million investment to build a new production facility in Peterborough, Ontario. Canada is the first international market for fairlife so Canadians will be the first outside the US to try this incredible product for themselves, starting this fall.

Also read, Nestlé Canada Announces $51.5 Million Investment in London Ice Cream Factory.

“We’re thrilled to be adding fairlife Ultrafiltered Milk to Coca-Cola’s growing and diverse portfolio of beverages here in Canada,” says Shane Grant, president of the Canadian business unit of The Coca-Cola Company. “This announcement is a significant step in our journey to be a total beverage company and offer Canadians a beverage for every part of their day.”

Over and above its high quality and rich, creamy taste, fairlife Ultrafiltered Milk boasts 50% more protein and 50% less sugar than traditional milk and is lactose-free, making it a unique and innovative addition to the Canadian dairy category.

New Facility an Investment in Innovation
Coca-Cola Canada’s announced plans to build a production facility in Peterborough will directly support this new Canadian dairy innovation. Scheduled to start operations in 2020, the facility will be supplied by local Ontario dairy farms.

“It is a long-held belief at Coca-Cola that we should operate as close to the communities we serve as possible, and we’re very excited to be building a new facility here in Canada,” says Grant. “This investment will allow us to create new jobs, not to mention additional economic benefits for the region through construction and ongoing supplier support.”

Coca-Cola Canada’s new plant will produce fairlife Ultrafiltered Milk in Fat Free, 2% White and Chocolate and Whole varieties in 1.5 L and 2% White and Chocolate in 240 mL formats.  Both will come in PET bottles.

Coca-Cola Canada has been working closely with Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO), who see this as a tremendous opportunity for Ontario farmers and the Canadian dairy industry.

“Introducing fairlife to the Canadian market presents a great opportunity to showcase Ontario dairy farmers’ high-quality milk and animal care practices, which pair well with the premium standards and passion for quality fairlife is known for,” says Graham Lloyd, DFO’s general manager and chief executive officer. “This new initiative will provide significant economic benefits for farmers and the Peterborough community, further showing Canada’s dairy system continues to contribute to the Canadian economy by attracting millions of dollars in processor investments and offering continued and stable growth.

fairlife Believes in Doing Things Better
fairlife was founded by dairy farmers Mike and Sue McCloskey in 2012 as a joint venture between The Coca-Cola Company and Select Milk Producers. Select, a co-op of 99 family-owned farms that was started by Mike and Sue in 1994, is driven by a passion to improve the way dairy farming is done and a desire to produce the most nutritious milk possible.

“It’s really a tremendous opportunity for us to launch fairlife in the Canadian market and introduce Canadians to the fairlife way of living that so many people in the States have discovered and embraced,” said fairlife co-founder Sue McCloskey. “We’re really excited to get this process started to bring fairlife to Canada and over the next two years get the plant up and running. This is an exciting project that will lead to producing fairlife using Canadian milk - from Canadian dairy farmers -  and we’re honoured to be working with the Dairy Farmers of Ontario to make all this cool innovation happen.”

Coca-Cola Canada and fairlife, LLC, are thrilled to share news of this exciting innovation and can’t wait for Canadians to try it for themselves.

SOURCE Chris Whitehead, Coca-Cola Canada