Nestlé invests in Cuba to benefit the local food industry
Nestlé and Cuban food enterprise Corporación Alimentaria, S.A. (Coralsa), have started the construction of a food production plant in the Mariel Special Development Zone (ZEDM). Nestlé will invest CHF 54 million in the factory, which will employ 260 people by 2020.
The plant will produce the world’s leading coffee brand Nescafé, the local Cuban roast & ground coffee Serrano, Nestlé Fitness cereal based snacks, the Nesquik powdered beverage, as well as Maggicooking aids.
Yearly production capacity is expected to be over 18,500 tons in total, for local consumption and export. The factory will be located in a 602,779 sq ft area, where manufacturing structures will occupy 139,930 sq ft distributed in two floors. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2019, and operations will start in the first trimester of 2020.
Laurent Freixe, CEO for the Americas at Nestlé, made a three-day visit to Cuba to mark the start of construction. He said: “This new factory will help meet growing consumer demand and further strengthen our presence in Cuba. Localproduction capacity combined with Nestlé’s know-how will benefit the local food industry and create new chances for growth.”
The inauguration ceremony was attended by Cuban authorities including Mrs. María Carmen de la Concepción González, Minister of Food Industry; Mrs. Ana Teresa Igarza Martínez, General Director of ZEDM and Mr. Nelson Arias Moreno, President of Coralsa; among others. The ZEDM is an important center for economic development and a major platform for foreign investment in Cuba.
Harold Hoffmann, Country Manager for Cuba, said: “This production plant represents a great opportunity to develop new categories with high demand in Cuban market. We seek to offer products with nutritional value, in coherence with our Nutrition, Health and Wellness strategy, while expanding the business in the region”.
While in Cuba, the Nestlé delegation also visited the Los Portales plant, at Pinar del Rio, where carbonated soft drinks and bottled water are produced. They also visited the Palacio de los Pioneros Ernesto Guevara in La Havana, where Nestlé will sponsor a permanent Education pavilion on Healthy Food Habits, targeted at school-age children. “
Cuba has great opportunities for industrial development; with this investment we aim to be a part of its growth as we are sure that it will continue to be an important engine of profitability in the Latin Caribbean region while establishing a strong footprint in the country for the next decades”, said Alexandre Carreteiro, Nestlé’s Market Head for Latin Caribbean.
Nestlé in Cuba
Nestlé has been in Cuba since 1908, growing significantly in the last 20 years, with plants destined to the production of mineral water and carbonated soft drinks at Los Portales and ice-cream at Coralac, both joint venture with Coralsa. A wide range of Nestlé products are also imported into Cuba through a representation office Silsa Dominicana SA, contributing with the health and wellbeing of the Cuban population.
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