Red Bull moves ahead with $1.7B factory after delay

Red Bull broke ground on a new $1.7 billion facility in Concord, North Carolina, following a four-year delay, Food Dive reports.

The facility is a joint manufacturing and distribution center from Red Bull, packaging supplier Ball Corp., and Austrian beverage company Rauch Fruchtsäfte. It’s the second manufacturing plant for the companies in the U.S., and is meant to meet local market demand, according to a Red Bull spokesperson.

The 2.36 million-square-foot facility is expected to begin operations in 2028 and reach its maximized capacity by 2031, a spokesperson said. It will fill up to 3 billion cans annually and is expected to create 700 jobs.

The project was first announced in 2021, and construction began on Sept. 9. A spokesperson didn’t specify the reason for the delay.

Red Bull, Ball and Rauch Fruchtsäfte opened their first U.S. plant in Glendale, Arizona, in 2021. The North Carolina site is meant to complement the Arizona location by manufacturing Red Bull Energy drinks for the U.S., but it has capability “to manufacture for other markets should that be required,” the spokesperson said.

A 50% tariff on aluminum by the Trump Administration this year has created a push for more beverage packing in the U.S.

Austria-based Red Bull is building the North Carolina facility as the global energy drink market is seeing growth — it’s projected to reach $125 billion by 2030.

Founded in the 1980s, Red Bull is among the pioneers of the energy category. It’s now facing increased competition as more upstarts join the field and beverage companies expand their energy offerings, with the likes of Keurig Dr Pepper, PepsiCo, and Anheuser-Busch all investing in the space.