Carabao Energy Drinks has revealed that it has moved its production base from Refresco in The Netherlands to Thailand – from where the company originates.
The fast-growing brand stated that vertical integration is one of the cornerstones of its global strategy and its partnership with Refresco will continue to support other international markets.
Moving production to Carabao’s facility in Thailand is expected to yield additional benefits such as increased supply chain flexibility and improved integration with its Thai R&D product development team.
David Butcher, MD at Carabao UK&I, said: “Refresco have been a fantastic partner to us in the UK for the last three years and helped us get to where we are today. We have no doubt they’ll continue to be invaluable to our other international markets. However, we are very excited to start making use of our newly-built state-of-the-art facility in Thailand, which will allow us to take our brilliant products to the next level.”
The factory is located on the outskirts of Bangkok and has been newly purpose built for the production of Carabao Energy Drink products, with the capacity to produce more than 1.5billion cans each year.
Carabao has also revealed that it is planning launch a new flavour in the UK this spring as part of its drive to challenge leading players in a sector such as Red Bull and Monster.
The new variant follows the launch of Mandarin Orange in 2018 and joins a portfolio that already includes Carabao Original, Sugar Free and Green Apple. It is understood to be a mixed fruit flavour and will be amongst the first cans manufactured in the new production facility.
The launch will be supported as part of a major marketing spend this year that will also see the brand’s football sponsorships referenced on-pack for the first time. Carabao sponsors both the Carabao Cup competition and Chelsea FC in the Premier League.
The brand stated that further details of the new variant will be announced closer to the launch date.
