According to The Irish Farmers Journal, Coca-Cola, a global beverage producer, is considering setting up a milk processing plant in Cork.

Coca-Cola senior executives have held meetings in Ireland in recent months to learn about the Irish dairy industry. Coca-Cola is particularly interested in research and development opportunities in the dairy industry.

Company representatives visited Teagasc Moorepark in Cork and the Milk Processing Technology Center (DPTC) at the University of Limerick to gain a better understanding of the research work being done in the Irish dairy sector.

The company is increasingly seeking to abandon sugary drinks and is working closely with IDA (the agency responsible for attracting and retaining foreign direct investment in Ireland) to create a dairy factory in this country.

In 2014, Coca-Cola launched its own brand of milk in the USA under the name Fairlife. It costs twice as much as regular liquid milk and is sold as a healthy drink containing 50% more protein and 30% less sugar than standard milk. In recent years, countries like Ireland, the UK, and Mexico have introduced sugar taxes to reduce obesity. This has become the driving force behind Coca-Cola's diversification strategy.

The company recently invested 75 million euros in the construction of a new Fairlife milk facility in Ontario, Canada. Coca-Cola has not yet brought its Fairlife brand to consumers in Europe. It is not clear whether Coca-Cola plans to buy milk directly from Irish farmers. In the United States, the company receives milk directly from Fair Oaks Farms, a 30,000 Indiana dairy farm.