Coca-Cola celebrates 60 years of operations in Sri Lanka

Coca-Cola’s journey in Sri Lanka began 60 years ago on April 1961, when consumers tasted their first ice-cold sip of Coca-Cola from a 300-millilitre glass bottle. 

By establishing its footprint in Sri Lanka, Coca-Cola has invested in the future of its business, demonstrating long-term commitment, while adding economic value to the country. The Coca-Cola system has invested US $ 99 million in Sri Lanka over the past two decades and created thousands of jobs directly and indirectly.  Through this evolution, for 60 years, Coca-Cola has silently broken new ground with impactful environmental and social projects that deliver enduring value to the nation, refreshing communities by making a difference. 

Coca-Cola’s vision is to craft the brands such as Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta and Kinley to refresh people and create a more sustainable business and better shared future that makes a difference in people’s lives, communities and our planet. The company is continuously evolving to cater to consumers better and is now providing more convenient packages, innovating and introducing new lower and no-sugar drinks.  To celebrate its 60th anniversary in Sri Lanka, Coca-Cola recently took the initiative to spread positivity with the ‘60 Days of Kindness’ radio campaign to reward people in need and celebrate those who have gone above and beyond to spread kindness and compassion.  

Recording its 60th year in Sri Lanka for posterity, 12 local artists have been commissioned to design Coca-Cola bottles three feet tall. Each artist has been given a theme central to Coca-Cola and once complete, the pieces of art will be auctioned for charitable causes.  Reflecting on its enriching journey, Coca-Cola can take pride in having built close community ties, achieving growth and expansion of its beverages portfolio and embarking on impactful sustainability initiatives. In its ‘Give Back Life’ campaign, Coca-Cola is on a journey towards collecting and recycling the equivalent of every bottle it sells to achieve PET plastic neutrality in Sri Lanka, while through its water stewardship project of rehabilitating three ancient water reservoirs in Anuradhapura and Monaragala, the company has achieved 203 percent water positivity. This means that for every litre of water used for the production of its beverages, it returns two litres to the local communities. In the local communities, as many as 3,500+ women have been economically empowered with business and entrepreneurship skills and 500+ granted asset placements across the country under the company’s 5by20 initiative over the past eight years.

Today, as the country faces the ongoing challenge of COVID-19, Coca-Cola committed Rs.130 million towards the COVID-19 response in 2020 and has further pledged Rs.45 million in 2021 to support those on the frontlines. No matter the crises the nation has faced, Coca-Cola has always endeavoured to stand in solidarity with the people in Sri Lanka.