FEMSA

The Cervecería Cuauhtémoc brewery was founded in 1890 by a group of visionary entrepreneurs in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico.

In 1893, the firm produced its first beer barrel, going on to win first prize in both the Chicago and Paris world fairs.

Customer demand soon led the company to build its own glassworks, establishing Fábrica de Vidrios y Cristales in 1899.

In 1908, His Majesty King Alfonso XIII of Spain appointed the firm as an official royal supplier, reflecting its growing status and reputation.

By the following year, Cervecería Cuauhtémoc was producing 300,000 bottles of beer a day and employed 1500 workers.

The group created the exclusive distributor Company Comercial Distribuidora in 1929, strengthening its position in the market.

Significant restructuring in 1936 resulted in the formation of Valores Industriales (VISA) as a holding company to manage its various businesses.

The group split its operations in 1974, with a new holding company, ALFA, managing steel, fibres and chemicals, while VISA retained the brewing and associated businesses.

In 1978, VISA went public on the Mexican Stock Exchange, establishing the group as a cornerstone of the national economy.

In 1985, the firm merged with Cervecería Moctezuma, producer of a range of well-known beer brands, giving it a domestic market share of at least 50 per cent.

The group generated consolidated total revenues of 702,692 million pesos (US$41.5 billion) in 2023, a rise of 7.7 per cent year-on-year.

This translated into 58,985 million pesos (US$3.5 billion) in income from operations.

Today, FEMSA is the fourth-largest company in Mexico, with a market capitalisation of almost US$40 billion.

The firm is also the country’s second-largest employer, making it an integral part of the domestic economy.

The company owns 47.2 per cent of Coca-Cola FEMSA, the world’s largest bottler of Coca-Cola by sales volume, with extensive operations in nine markets in Latin America.

In 1921, the firm’s successful beer cap manufacturing unit was established as Fábricas Monterrey (FAMOSA), which diversified into the production of metallic cans.

The group formed a separate packaging company, Empaques de Carton Titán, in 1936, creating corrugated cardboard boxes and cartons.

Also in 1936, the firm founded a commodity supply business, Malta, to provide essential malt for the brewing process.

The group established Almacenes y Silos in 1940; a new business providing storage for grains and other vital raw materials.

In 1979, the group acquired its first Coca-Cola franchise, expanding its presence in the soft drinks sector.

In 2020, FEMSA entered the US janitorial and sanitation industry, acquiring two market leaders, WAXIE and North American Corporation. This new company was subsequently named Envoy Solutions.

The company introduced easy-opening canned beer in 1964, providing a new, user-friendly solution for customers.

in 1967, the firm designed a non-returnable glass bottle with a twist-off cap, removing the need for a bottle opener.

In 1979, the group created Brisa beer, the first low-calorie beer in the country.

Digital is now one of FEMSA’s core business areas. Its tech innovation division, Digital@FEMSA, leverages data and analytics to develop digital solutions that meet customers’ needs.

FEMSA’s convenience store chain OXXO has introduced Spin by OXXO, an app offering customers a comprehensive range of options to manage their finances, including transferring funds and paying utility bills.

FEMSA operates several strategic businesses that support its core business units. These include AlPunto, which provides equipment, material handling and point-of-sale services for the food and beverage industry.

The firm introduced the ‘Beer Drive’ system in 1980, offering improved distribution of draft beer using water trucks and cooling tanks.

In 1993, the company acquired its first Coca-Cola franchise in Argentina, establishing a joint venture with The Coca-Cola Company.

Today, Coca-Cola FEMSA operates 56 bottling plants and 251 distribution centres, serving more than 272 million people through 2.1 million points of sale.

In 2003, the group acquired Panamerican Beverages, the largest bottling operation in Latin America, to become the second-largest bottler of Coca-Cola beverages in the world.

In 1978, FEMSA launched its first OXXO store in Monterrey, establishing the first in a network of fast, practical and reliable convenience stores.

Today OXXO operates over 22,800 stores in five Latin American countries, serving about 12 million customers a day.

The group also owns the OXXO GAS brand, which operates 571 service stations across Mexico, with 110 of these using renewable energy.

The European foodvenience network Valora, acquired by FEMSA in 2022, offers 13 sales formats and about 2700 outlets across Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

Through its health and personal care division, FEMSA Salud, the group operates Latin America’s largest pharmacy platform, with 4474 points of sale across Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Mexico.

In 2008, the firm established the FEMSA Foundation to make social investments that have a positive impact on people’s lives and build more sustainable communities.

Water security and sanitation are important themes in the foundation’s work. Among other projects, it provides mobile water purification vehicles to communities affected by water shortages due to natural disasters.

In 2021, following the devastating effects of Hurricane Grace in the state of Veracruz, the foundation organised the Come for Water campaign, which benefited more than 70,000 people.

The foundation manages the FEMSA Collection, comprising over 1300 works of modern and contemporary Latin American art that are displayed and shared with diverse communities in Mexico and abroad.

The FEMSA Biennial further supports artistic creation in Mexico by hosting a curatorial platform every two years in various locations across the country.

In 2023, the foundation partnered with Tec de Monterrey to establish the Center for Early Childhood to promote early childhood wellbeing through interdisciplinary and applied research, communication and training.

In 1923, the group introduced carbonic gas into the manufacturing process to make serving beer from barrels more convenient for consumers.

The company was an early innovator in the bottling process, and was the first Mexican brewery to replace corks with metal caps.

In 1930, the company replaced its metal vats with wooden ones, allowing for the pasteurisation of beer in the manufacturing process.

In 1942, in response to import restrictions during World War II, the group established its own steel mill, Hylsa, to manufacture the steel needed to produce bottle caps.

The firm introduced a simplified two-part aluminium can in 1977, featuring a body and lid only.

Today, the group employs more than 392,000 staff across its various business units, and maintains a presence in 17 countries.

In 1911, the company established the Cuauhtémoc Polytechnic School, providing elementary and high school education, as well as vocational training in electricity, fermentation, clerical work, physics and chemistry.

In 1943, the company’s CEO was the driving force behind the establishment of the Institute of Technology and Higher Studies of Monterrey, now one of the region’s top-ranked universities.

Across the group, more than 9.7 million hours of training were completed in 2023, covering topics including human rights, sustainability, leadership and ethics, as well as technical knowledge.

In 2018 and 2021, Coca-Cola FEMSA was recognised as the Best Employer Brand in the LinkedIn Talent Awards Mexico.

FEMSA’s Sustainability Strategy has three pillars: People – including human and labour rights, diversity and inclusion; Planet – including climate action and water management; and Community – including sustainable sourcing and economic development.

Nearly three-quarters of total operational waste generated by FEMSA was diverted from landfills in 2023.

Thanks to efficient water management systems, Coca-Cola FEMSA has achieved a water use ratio of just 1.42 litres of water per litre of beverage produced.

The group operates over 15,000 sites with renewable energy as of 2023, accounting for 62.4 per cent of its total electricity consumption.

FEMSA sources 37 per cent of the raw materials used in its products and packaging from recycled origins.

FEMSA participates in various global measurement systems to assess its sustainability performance, including the Dow Jones Sustainability MILA Pacific Alliance Index and the FTSE4Good Emerging Index.

Through FEMSA Salud, the group donated more than 670,000 units of medications and other products to communities in need and provided over 6500 free medical consultations in 2023.

Partnering with the Inter-American Development Bank, the FEMSA Foundation launched the Early Childhood Development Innovation Fund in 2017 to benefit children from vulnerable communities in Latin America and the Caribbean.

FEMSA carried out more than 1000 community wellbeing initiatives in 2023, with employees contributing over 350,000 volunteering hours.

Through in-store ‘donate your change’ initiatives, convenience store chain OXXO channelled 95.17 million pesos (US$5 million) to 378 community-based institutions in 2023.

Also in 2023, FEMSA announced an investment of US$22 million to improve global water security by 2030.

In 1918, the company established a cooperative society for its employees. Its wide-ranging remit included providing a savings fund, groceries, healthcare, courses and scholarships.

This cooperative was renamed SCyF, and in 1945 it inaugurated the Cuauhtémoc y Famosa Clinic, providing the company’s workforce with access to medical services free of charge.

In 2023, SCyF signed a collaboration agreement with Tecnológico de Monterrey Health System (TecSalud) to expand and integrate their services, further improving health programmes for FEMSA employees.

Under this agreement, TecSalud will provide comprehensive coverage, including laboratory and imaging services and access to primary care clinics, for around 3000 FEMSA employees and their immediate families.

As part of its commitment to integral workplace wellbeing, FEMSA aims to provide 100 per cent of its employees with access to a psychosocial support system by 2030.

The group launched Genoma FEMSA in 2023, a collaborative platform to digitise and improve occupational health by enabling health data to be analysed in real time from any company location.