Coca-Cola closing 65-year-old bottling plant over new business model, restructuring 

*The Management of the Coca-Cola Bottling of Hawaii disclose the rationale for winding down the company’s operations after a 65-year run is Coke’s new business strategy to prioritise marketing, distribution, and other objectives while outsourcing tasks, including bottling

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

Hawaii’s lone Coca-Cola bottling plant is winding down operations after a 65-year run.

It was gathered the Honolulu Star-Advertiser broke the news of the Mapunapuna plant closure, which Joe Carter, Vice-President and General Manager of Coca-Cola Bottling of Hawaii, also confirmed.

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Carter, in a prepared statement, said: “The decision to close our production facility in Hawaii is part of a strategic optimisation plan for The Odom Corporation’s beverage businesses in the state.”

He also said that the facility “reached its operational life, and significant upgrades would be required to continue production.”

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The statement further indicated that the closure at the end of January 2026 affects 25 employees.

However, efforts are being made at relocating the affected personnel within Odom’s operations across Hawaii.

It is noted that the overall plan for the company is to shift focus to distribution and marketing of Coca-Cola products in Hawaii.

Carter explained: “We will continue employing local team members in sales, distribution and service, delivering the same high quality beverages our communities know and love.”

While it is encouraging to hear that Odom is looking to provide other opportunities for affected employees, plant closures and shifting job responsibilities provide challenges for locals, according to report.

It is unclear how seamless transitioning to new roles and work sites will actually be for longtime employees.

Still, Odom did announce plans to build a new warehouse in Kapolei that it said would “better serve” customers, and reflects their commitment to the Hawaiian market.

Observers said a few questions were unanswered after the company’s announcement.

Vice-President and General Manager of Coca-Cola Bottling of Hawaii did not specify where Coke would emanate from in this new arrangement, and he did not reveal whether the bottling facility used water from Hawaii.

Carter, nonetheless, did assure that the Coca-Cola concentrate would be unchanged, report noted.

The plant’s closure continues a trend for Coca-Cola of cancelling new facilities and shuttering existing ones. The rationale for these moves is Coke’s new strategy to prioritise marketing, distribution, and other objectives while outsourcing tasks, such as bottling.

The rationale for these moves is Coke’s new strategy to prioritise marketing, distribution, and other objectives while outsourcing tasks such as bottling, Yahoo! Finance report said.

It was gathered though the latest moves might be good for the brand’s bottom line, they come at the cost of locals who rely on the facilities for job opportunities.

Zooming out, another concerning trend with Coca-Cola is its world-leading contribution to plastic pollution.

While it is unclear if the bottle plant’s closure will affect the company’s troubled environmental record positively or negatively, transporting more product from Odom’s facilities on the mainland to Hawaii likely will not help things, according to report.

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