The European soft drinks sector provides refreshment and enjoyment to a large number of EU citizens thanks to our wide range of beverages.
As a sector sourcing, producing, and employing people locally, we are a significant contributor to the EU economy and society. We support over 1.8 million jobs across Europe – both directly and throughout our supply chain. For every job in soft drinks production, another seven jobs are created in the value chain, in sectors including agriculture, raw materials, manufacturing, packaging, marketing, transport, retail and catering.
KEY FACTS AND FIGURES
jobs throughout the soft drinks value chain
annually is the estimated worth of the soft drinks value chain
BOOSTING JOBS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH ACROSS EUROPE
A competitive soft drinks sector is essential to continue boosting economic growth and driving positive change through innovation across Europe. With the EU simplification agenda, Competitiveness Compass and the new Single Market Strategy, there is a real opportunity to streamline the EU’s regulatory environment. Simplifying existing legislation and preventing new legislative barriers is a crucial step toward fostering innovation and encouraging investment. Ensuring EU legislation is coherent, stable, and fit for purpose, based on comprehensive impact assessments and built on a sound evidence base, will provide legal clarity and certainty for businesses to stay competitive, invest in innovation and create jobs.
Meet McCarter (Slovakia)
McCarter is a Slovak company that produces 30 million soft drinks annually at its manufacturing plant in Dunajská Streda, using locally sourced ingredients. The company currently employs 186 people and collaborates closely with local partners. It also continuously invests in innovation to meet consumers’ changing needs and expectations.
Meet Radenska (Slovenia)
For more than 155 years, Radenska – a beverage company in Slovenia – has played a crucial role in the country’s economy and the livelihoods of many Slovenians.
Meet Roma (Norway)
Roma is a Norwegian, family-owned soft drink factory with over 100 years of history. Its factory, located just outside Oslo, produces around 3 million liters of soft drinks annually. Roma makes significant investments in innovation to accelerate sugar reduction and promote sustainable packaging and operations.
Meet Sanmy (Spain)
Sanmy is Spain’s oldest soft drinks company, manufacturing more than 300 products. It contributes to the Spanish soft drinks sector, which generates over €10.7 billion and employs more than 176,000 people across the country.
Meet Bornholms Mosteri (Denmark)
Bornholms Mosteri is a Danish beverage company that produces soft drinks from locally-grown ingredients. The company boosts economic growth and provides jobs, including for the most vulnerable, who make up 75% of its workforce.
Meet Sumol Compal (Portugal)
Sumol Compal is the leading Portuguese company in the non-alcoholic beverage market with an 80-year legacy. The company has four manufacturing plants in Portugal, employing nearly 1,100 people in addition to creating over 2,000 indirect jobs. It generates an annual turnover of approximately €380 million.
Meet Merlin’s Beverages (Romania)
Merlin’s Beverages is a Romanian soft drinks company producing well-known local beverages and driving local employment. The company will open a new facility representing a €40 million investment with cutting-edge PET and can production lines, creating over 100 new jobs.
Meet Herrljunga Drycker (Sweden)
Herrljunga Drycker is a family-owned Swedish beverage company since 1911. All of its production is based in Herrljunga, in the heart of Västra Götaland, where it contributes to local employment and sustainable growth in Sweden.
Meet Naturfrisk Group (Denmark)
Naturfrisk Group is a Danish beverage company that produces soft drinks and other beverages at its local production site on East Funen, just 140 kilometres away from Copenhagen. By producing locally, Naturfrisk is investing in Denmark, creating local employment, and contributing to a more competitive and sustainable local economy.
Meet Galvanina (Italy)
Galvanina is a beverage company situated on the slopes of Paradise Hill, near Rimini (Italy), producing 221.7 million beverages, employing 136 people, and generating over €99 million annual revenue (2025).
Meet Olvi (Finland)
Olvi is one of the largest beverage producers in Finland, operating in the country since 1878. It produces a wide range of soft drinks at its site in Iisalmi, staying close to consumers and supply chain partners. The company drives growth and creates jobs in Finland and beyond, employing over 2,500 people across the Group. It has expanded its operations to multiple locations, including the Baltics and the Mediterranean, where it creates value for local communities.
Meet La Limonaderie de Paris (France)
La Limonaderie de Paris is a French beverage company recognised as an artisanal lemonade maker, which produces 2 million beverages annually. It is the perfect example of a company with an important socio-economic impact on its local community by supporting the entire supply chain, from French farmers to the HoReCa sector.
Meet Coca-Cola Romania and its bottling partner, Coca-Cola HBC Romania
In Romania, Coca-Cola has had a strong local presence since 1991 through two companies: Coca-Cola Romania, and its local bottling partner, Coca-Cola HBC Romania. With three plants in Ploieşti, Timişoara, and Poiana Negrii, Coca-Cola supports 20,700 direct and indirect jobs and generates €911m value added across the Romanian value chain. By doing so, it contributes €520m to state revenues. It is not just about local jobs and growth. It is also about the value the company brings to the local community. Only in the last 10 years, Coca-Cola has also invested in more than 40 social projects in Romania.
THE SOFT DRINKS VALUE CHAIN
Sourcing, extraction, and processing of raw materials used in packaging, i.e., wood pulp, metals, plastics, glass
Production of packaging that is used to store, contain and transport goods.
Any communication with the end user that promotes a product or service. This excludes any advertising services provided internally by a soft drinks producer.
Sale of goods in the off-trade channel, whereby products are consumed away from the site of purchase
Farming and harvesting of any arable crops including sugar beet, fruit, etc.
Third-party suppliers that provide any ingredients to soft drinks suppliers, including sugar, syrups, flavourings, juices, sweeteners, etc.
Logistical process and transportation of goods between soft drinks producers and the final point of sale. This excludes any services provided internally by a soft drinks producer
Sale of goods in the on-trade channel, whereby products are consumed on the site of purchase
SMEs IN THE SOFT DRINKS SECTOR
Most small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), defined as companies employing less than 250 people, focus on niche segments in the soft drinks market by capitalising on specific consumer trends for novel products.
In the European soft drinks industry, SMEs contribute about 14% of the total market revenue .