Jacksonville Coke bottler navigates tariff-driven cost increases while expanding Florida partnerships (Courtesy of the Jacksonville Business Journal) — Coca-Cola Beverages Florida is celebrating America’s 250th anniversary with a patriotic new package rollout, but at its Jacksonville bottling plant, the real focus Thursday was on something more immediate: how to keep costs down and output high in a tougher economy.
The Florida bottler unveiled limited-edition cans and bottles at the Northside facility while executives laid out the balancing act ahead. Aluminum prices are climbing, demand across Florida is growing and major tourism and hospitality tailwinds are expected to add even more volume. That makes efficiency, speed and scale increasingly critical for the company’s long-term play.
Coca Cola Beverages Florida is producing the specialty America250 Coke Classic mini-can solely in its Jacksonville facility, leaders announced to business and government leaders Thursday.
“So we are built on a solid foundation, that has been making beverages here, employing people here, investing in the community here for over 100 years, and we plan to be here for hundreds of more years,” said Troy Taylor, the CEO of Coca Cola Beverages Florida.
To maintain that longevity, however, the bottler operating in the backyard of Jacksonville’s Northside must navigate through one of its most challenging economic environments yet.
Aluminum costs have surged by 40% since President Donald Trump raised tariffs on U.S. aluminum imports to 50% in June of last year, according to Reuters, putting a squeeze on margins for technology developers, aerospace manufacturers and packagers such as Coca Cola Beverages Florida.
Facing historic spikes in input costs and upcoming boons for demand in Florida through new partnerships with Marriott and the surge in tourism anticipated in the state from the FIFA World Cup’s scheduled games in Miami, Taylor told the Business Journal that producing more amid rising costs is about nailing down efficiency.
The CEO and chairman said that’s why he looks at the company through the lens of a statewide network, having the method of moving products around the state and nation down to a science.
“It’s availability for our products. Marriott sees us as a great partner because we innovate. We bring great, great brands to them,” Taylor said. “But we also bring great service to them because part of our business, we deliver on time. We service the equipment. We provide great equipment. We understand who their consumers are in each hotel.”
The Coke facility in Jacksonville, along with the rest of the state monitors everything from the volume of fluids it dispenses to the number of cans it fills – up to 1,500 a minute in Jacksonville – using a slate of innovative software.
Always improving on those efficiencies is crucial to maintaining a healthy bottom line and also passing on cost savings to consumers.
“We always want our products to be affordable for all customers, no matter their socio-economic level, and so we work very hard to make sure that our operations are efficient, they’re effective and that they’re cost effective as well,” Taylor said. “So you heard some of the things, how we manage changing over our lines, how we manage our production, and we like to pass a lot of those savings on to our consumers as well.”
Aluminum cost increases in particular have been a thorn at the side of food and beverage packagers across the country. For Coke’s bottling giant in Florida, the price of aluminum keeps climbing.
But demand and customers are growing alongside the surging input costs, Taylor said.
Florida’s recent population boom keeps the statewide Coke bottler busy, and the influx of tourists adds an additional wave of consumers vital to the company.
Northeast Florida stands out in Florida’s Coke bottling network as it distributes unique products such as Disney’s Coke orbs found at Walt Disney World in Orlando and Disneyland in California. No matter which park, the Coke orbs for the mouse were filled and sealed in Jacksonville.
Taylor said the unique mix of customers they receive in Florida makes Coca Cola Beverages Florida an important player in the Coca Cola family globally.
“We want to make sure we have the right products and the right packages for them, so we have a huge population that we can serve every year, and that’s why we call ourselves the billboard to the world,” Taylor said. “Because people come here, we give them a great experience, and that makes their propensity to grab our products when they go back home even higher.”
Photo courtesy of Coca-Cola Company