Arca Continental, one of the largest Coca-Cola bottlers in the world, announced it will invest 17 billion pesos (just over US $1 billion) in a variety of operations across its Latin American and U.S. facilities this year.

In a press release, Arca revealed the funds will target increased production and distribution capacity, as well as promoting the use of digital tools, strengthening new categories of beverages, and expanding shared value projects in the communities it serves in Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina and the United States.

Mexico will receive more than half of the investment with the remaining 45% going to South America and the United States. Arca has plants in 14 Mexican states while other bottlers, including beverage/retail giant FEMSA, handle bottling operations in the rest of Mexico’s states.

The announcement was made during last week’s annual shareholders meeting in Monterrey in which company CEO Arturo Gutiérrez and Chairman of the Board of Directors Jorge Santos Reyna lauded Arca’s record results last year.

Arca set a new all-time high in consolidated volume — nearly 2.5 billion unit cases (a unit case is a unit of measurement that equals 5,678 liters) — and reported annual sales in excess of 213.6 billion pesos (nearly US $12.8 billion). The sales total represented a 2.8% increase over 2022 whereas net income grew by 12.9% over 2022, climbing to 17.5 billion pesos (US $1.05 billion).

Gutiérrez reaffirmed the company’s commitment to consolidating a long-term strategy that promotes the integral growth of the entire value chain. The planned investment demonstrates that this commitment is real and the 2023 results prove the strategy is effective, he said.

“[Last year’s] positive results in all markets where we operate reaffirm our path of profitable and sustainable growth, driven by the continuous improvement of operational and commercial capabilities,” he said.

Among the improvements is the AC Digital app by which Arca has digitized nearly 60% of its distribution and supply chain as of December. Shopkeepers are able to place and track orders more efficiently, and take advantage of exclusive promotions, the news publication Vanguardia reported.

For his part, Santos Reyna highlighted Arca’s vision of generating long-term shared value and the company’s commitment to being an agent of positive change.

In addition to the production, distribution and marketing of Coca-Cola products in Mexico, Arca does the same for snacks under the Bokados brand.

With reports from Vanguardia and Forbes México