Swiss food and drinks major Nestlé has injected €30m ($32.97m) into the production of cereal drinks in Portugal.

The sum has been invested into a line at a factory in Avanca, in the north-eastern region of the country.

It is home to Nestlé's sole cereal drinks production line in Europe, manufacturing drinks products such as Tofina, Pensal, Bolero and Mokambo.

The money was used to install "more advanced technology" to produce its cereal drinks range, a spokesperson for Nestlé told Just Drinks. Work on the new machines started two weeks ago, they said.

They added new machinery would help to reduce waste and increase production capacity by 15%. The group declined to confirm the current annual production capacity of the production line.

Nestlé said the new equipment would also help to boost exports to countries in "Europe, Latin America and Asia, such as Japan". Some 70% of production at the Avanca cereal drinks line is exported.

Nestlé has been present in Portugal since 1923, producing more than 90 brands in the country across coffee and instant beverages, infant formula, breakfast cereals, pet food, chocolate and clinical nutrition.

The Vevey-headquartered company operates two factories in Portugal. The other is a roasted coffee site further north in Porto.

It also manages a national distribution centre in Avanca and has its local HQ in Linda-a-Velha in the southern Oeiras municipality. Over 2,500 employees work across Nestlé's Portuguese branch. The Nescafé manufacturer generated €677m in sales in Portugal in 2022.

In its latest half-year results for the period ended 30 June 2024, Nestlé saw sales increase organically 4.5% to SFr9.3bn ($10.72bn) in its Europe zone. Its water and coffee sales grew in "mid-single digit[s]".

It also saw "continued but slowing market share losses in water", helped by mid-single-digit sales in the category.