Based in Draper, Utah, Swire Coca-Cola USA historically has served mostly rural areas in 11 Western states. Jack Pelo, president and chief executive officer of the company, even joked that its territory has more jackrabbits than people in Beverage Industry’s January 2008 issue. However, that is about to change.
Swire Coca-Cola USA, a subsidiary of Swire Beverages, a division of Hong Kong-based Swire Pacific Ltd., was one of five bottlers selected by The Coca-Cola Co. last spring to participate in a new beverage partnership model in the United States. As a result, Swire will assume new territories later this year in Colorado, including urban cities such as Denver and Colorado Springs, which border the bottler’s existing Colorado territories. This will drastically increase Swire’s population served from 6.2 million to 10.7 million people, Pelo says. It also will add 800 employees to Swire’s roster, which currently consists of approximately 1,800 workers, he adds.