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Coca-Cola manufactures hand sanitizers to address the urgent need after it has been alerted by local health officials

Coke, a winner of the World Branding ForumTeams around the world find creative ways to use their manufacturing facilities and supply chains to produce and deliver needed medical care to the front of COVID-19. For example, bottling and concentrate plants are working to close a critical supply gap by quickly relocating production to produce hand disinfectants for donations to hospitals, clinics and nursing homes.

The company's concentrate factory in France, Coca-Cola Midi, was a leader after receiving a request from local health officials to address an urgent shortage of hand sanitizers.

The Coca-Cola Midi team quickly mobilized technical teams and equipment to find a way to make hydroalcoholic gel at its plant in the south of France. A volunteer crew produced and filled an 800 kg batch of gel that met national and global regulatory requirements and worked over a weekend to maintain business continuity.

Midi has supplied the gel to the French government, which distributes it to law enforcement agencies and hospitals in Marseille and throughout the Var region, and will produce and donate up to 6 tons in total.

"Thanks to the persistence of those involved in this project, I am proud that we have received all the ingredients necessary to produce our first batch of this essential solution," said Rémi Lafon, general manager of the plant. "This initiative shows our strong commitment to the local community and we will continue to support in ways where we can be most useful in this extraordinary time."

Coca-Cola concentrate plants in Brazil, Ireland, Japan, Puerto Rico and Swaziland have taken a page from their midi colleagues' playbook and produce hand disinfectants. Coca-Cola bottlers in countries such as Uganda, Ethiopia, Germany, Kenya, South Africa, Turkey and the United States produce and / or fill disinfectants in collaboration with local health agencies and other partners. Some donate PET bottles and closures to companies that manufacture the solution.

"Wherever we have the skills and where there is a humanitarian need, we have responded quickly to respond to the needs of our communities by producing hand sanitizers," said Iain McLaughlin, VP, Commercial Product Supply, The Coca-Cola Company. "The response was very grateful."

The Coca-Cola System and the Coca-Cola Foundation, the global philanthropic arm of the Coca-Cola Company, have pledged more than $ 100 million to support COVID-19 relief efforts in communities around the world.