Dive Brief:
- Danone spent $65 million to expand a Jacksonville, Florida plant to help it meet growing demand for International Delight, STōK Cold Brew and other coffee and creamer brands. The expanded 77-year-old facility opened Tuesday.
- The food and beverage company also is investing in a new regional distribution center in the Jacksonville area to improve its distribution network, allowing Danone to deliver products at peak freshness across the Southeastern U.S.
- Danone said the manufacturing plant investment and distribution center will create nearly 200 direct and indirect jobs in the Jacksonville community.
Dive Insight:
Even as many businesses experience a downturn in product volume, companies are taking steps to position themselves for the future. Danone announced in 2023 it was adding a production line to support International Delight and STōK, two of its more prominent brands squarely positioned in areas popular with shoppers.
The cold brew coffee segment in particular is poised to increase from just under $500 million in 2022 to $3.11 billion by 2030, data from Skyquest showed. The growth of iced coffee is a big reason why Danone has expanded STōK into seasonal flavors and a cold-brew energy drink line to increase usage occasions for the brand.
The food and beverage maker said the new Jacksonville production line features “state-of-the-art” technology, including a bottle-molding process that will increase production capacity and deliver efficiency and sustainability benefits. This will result in a 30% reduction in bottle loss and require less water to create Danone’s new recyclable bottles.
“We are focused on serving our consumers as our business continues to grow and innovate, and we are committed to accelerating these investments to play our part in driving economic growth,” Dan Magliocco, president of Danone North America, said in a statement.
Food and beverage companies have been actively making changes to their production networks in 2025. Several firms, including JBS USA and Kraft Heinz, have added or announced plans for increasing output. At the same time, companies such as PepsiCo, Conagra Brands and J.M. Smucker have reduced parts of their capacity to bring supply in line with sagging consumer demand.
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