Coca-Cola Amatil has launched a new business accelerator called Amatil X, which will support the development of start-ups, emerging business and identify innovative product concepts. Coca-Cola Amatil is one of the largest bottlers of non-alcoholic ready-to-drink beverages in the Asia-Pacific region and one of the world’s five major Coca-Cola bottlers.
The company established the accelerator to drive growth outside of Coca-Cola’s core businesses, as the company is not open to proposals for new beverages.
To achieve this, the company has established AX Ventures, a multimillion-dollar investment corporate venturing programme, which will invest in promising companies once they have been identified.
Investment opportunities will be identified by two programmes: ‘Xcelerate’ and ‘Xponential’, both of which will test the viability of innovative ideas which could “improve the customer experience” or create new revenue streams.
Xcelerate will be operated by both Coca-Cola Amatil and start-up accelerator BlueChilli, and will seek applications from entrepreneurs and emerging businesses from Australia and New Zealand.
Meanwhile, the Xponential programme is an employee venturing programme, which will identify potential investment opportunities from within the company itself, leveraging Coca-Cola Amatil’s existing innovation programmes to find relevant opportunities.