Fairlife, the milk brand owned by Coca-Cola and a group of US dairy farmers, has announced plans to build a $200m (€178m) dairy processing plant in Phoenix, Arizona. This will be the third dairy processing plant built to manufacture the Fairlife range of milk and dairy drinks since the company was founded in 2014.

The new plant is expected to commence production in the second half of 2020. Fairlife said it will partner with United Dairymen of Arizona to source milk for the plant from local farmers.

“In choosing a new plant location, it is essential that the new facility be built in an area where dairy farms are willing and able to follow Fairlife’s responsible animal care and sustainable farming practices while producing the highest quality milk,” said Tim Doelman, chief operating officer at Fairlife.

Ireland

Last month, the Irish Farmers Journal revealed how Coca-Cola is considering establishing a dairy processing plant in Cork. Senior executives in the global drinks giant have visited Ireland on as many as seven occasions over recent months and have held a number of meetings to learn about the Irish dairy industry.

Coca-Cola has even visited the Teagasc dairy research facility at Moorepark in Fermoy, Co Cork, and has also visited the Dairy Processing Technology Centre (DPTC) at the University of Limerick to get a better understanding of the research and development work ongoing in the Irish dairy sector.