The British beverage firm and tequila producer Diageo has announced a US $500-million investment in a new tequila plant in Jalisco. Construction of the facility, Diageo’s third in the state, will begin this year in La Barca, situated in the eastern Ciénega region.
The company said in a press release that the new plant will use environmentally friendly technology and create more than 1,000 jobs, while expanding Diageo’s capacity to supply tequila to the local and international market. Diageo has a 20% market share in Mexico, and tequila makes up 8% of the company’s net sales worldwide, mostly driven by the North American market.
“This is the most significant investment we have made in Latin America and the Caribbean in the last 10 years,” said Álvaro Cárdenas, regional president of Diageo.
The company said that since its acquisition of Don Julio Tequila in 2015, it has continued to invest in Jalisco, creating jobs and starting a program for female entrepreneurs. In 2019, it completed another tequila facility at “El Charcón” in Atotonilco El Alto. The company is also the owner of Tequila Casamigos, a brand created by actor George Clooney and other partners.
Tequila is differentiated from other agave-based liquors by the fact that it is made from blue agave and produced only in a special geographic area that includes Jalisco and parts of other states.
With reports from Expansión
