Danone North America, a leading food and beverage company, announced it will invest up to $65 million over the next two years to create a new bottle production line in Jacksonville, Florida. The investment will support Danone North America's long-term growth strategy and will deliver key benefits across the U.S. business, including advancing operational excellence, enabling flexibility in bottle design, accelerating the company's sustainability goals, and driving cost efficiencies.
This multi-million-dollar investment will increase production of several of Danone's coffee and creamer brands in the U.S., including International Delight, Silk and SToK. It also serves to meet consumer demand in these categories while supporting the company's sustainability goal by reducing overall water consumption, decreasing carbon emissions and accelerating the company's goal of packaging circularity.
"We are delighted to announce this investment in our North American business, which will allow us to capitalize on consumer demand in key beverage categories including coffee creamers, plant-based creamers, and ready-to-drink coffee, while also supporting our long-term growth agenda," Shane Grant, group deputy CEO, CEO Americas, said in the announcement. "This investment will help us keep our products on our customers' shelves and give more American consumers the Danone products they love."
The expansion will also create up to 40 new full-time jobs with competitive wages and benefits.
Mike Sloboda, Danone North America's chief operations officer, said in the announcement, "We are thrilled to be investing in the people and economy of Jacksonville, creating 40 new jobs in addition to supporting our approximately 110 existing employees, all with competitive wages and benefits. This investment will allow us to better serve our customers and operate our business in an even more efficient and sustainable way."
Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry added: "This expansion of Danone North America goes to show that Jacksonville continues to be the place to be. I want to thank Danone North America for recognizing the strength and commitment of our community and investing in the Jacksonville campus, our people, and our region. This $65 million will create jobs and help us all work towards sustainable and responsible economic growth."
