Innovation, Agility and Partnerships as Strong Drivers of Sustainable Growth

IN TODAY’S BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT, SUSTAINABLE GROWTH REQUIRES READINESS FOR CONSTANT CHANGE. THIS KIND BRINGS NEW VALUE THROUGH INNOVATION AND ENABLES SWIFT ADAPTATION, WHILE PRESERVING THE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY AND RESPONSIBLE ACTION WITHIN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY.

The Coca-Cola system in Serbia combines the strength of global brands with tangible contributions to the local community. How do global standards shape your local business strategy?

Coca-Cola HBC Serbia is part of a large international system, and we bring some of the world’s most renowned beverage brands to the domestic market. At the same time, we are deeply rooted in the local community – we employ people from Serbia, produce locally, rely on domestic suppliers and work daily with around 37,000 customers across the country. 

Coca-Cola has been present in the Serbian market for nearly six decades. Rosa, however, had a somewhat different journey, evolving from a local to a regional brand. What set Rosa apart, and how did the global system contribute to that success?

There are still people in our system today who remember that February of 2005, when word spread through the corridors that “something big” was coming. And indeed, it was a decision that broke new ground – the acquisition of the Rosa brand, then a small bottling plant in Surdulica, marked the first purchase made by the Coca-Cola system in Serbia and Montenegro. From today’s perspective, twenty years later, we can proudly say that this decision was one of the most successful investments in the history of our operations in this part of Europe.

Can a company grow, innovate and remain committed to sustainability at the same time?

Our investment cycle in 2024 reached 36 million euros. Still, beyond investing in production modernization – such as the introduction of the state-of-the-art “SmartCan” canning line and the start of construction on a new warehouse that will increase our capacity by 70% – our aim is for all these investments to contribute to reducing our carbon footprint, aligned with our Group-wide Net Zero by 2040 mission.