Coca-Cola to exit sachet business

by Jenina P. Ibañez, BusinessWorld, 29 Sep 2021

COCA-COLA Beverages Philippines, Inc. on Tuesday announced that it will be exiting the sachet business next year as part of its environmental efforts.

The beverage company will also introduce paper straws and remove plastic straws from its juice and dairy products, Minute Maid and Nutriboost.

“We have made the bold decision to completely exit from our sachet business by 2022. Our reason for the shift in straws and our exit from sachets that we’ve been in a long, long time is due to significant challenges from plastic recovery [of] straws and sachets,” Coca-Cola Philippines President and Chief Executive Officer Gareth McGeown said at a virtual event.

“The exit hasn’t been an easy decision for many reasons, but we believe as a business, it’s the right one to make.”

The company in its Cavite-based manufacturing site produces powdered juice drinks sold in non-recyclable sachets.

As the company stops its sachet production, the 109 employees in the plant will be transferred to other Coca-Cola sites, Mr. McGeown said.

The move is part of the global company’s World Without Waste initiative to recycle the equivalent of a bottle or can for every one the company sells by 2030 and to make 100% of its packaging recyclable by 2025.

Meanwhile, the company’s P2.28-billion food grade bottle-to-bottle recycling facility joint venture with Indorama Ventures is still set to be operational by the first quarter next year. The facility will create around 200 direct jobs.

The global Coca-Cola company was named the world’s top plastic polluter by Break Free from Plastic in its annual audit last year. —