The Coca-Cola Bottling Company UNITED (CCBCU), headquartered in Alabama, operates three production facilities and 18 distribution sales centers located in six southern U.S. states. The company is the third largest bottler of Coca-Cola products in the U.S., and the largest privately held Coca-Cola bottler, employing approximately 3,000 people. It produces and distributes more than 400 different beverages brands.

Quality Control laboratories at its production facilities are responsible for verifying the composition of in-process product, ensuring that the "big six" additives (caffeine; preservatives sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate; and sweeteners acesulfame K, aspartame, and saccharin) are present in their specified concentrations. With each facility producing millions of cases of finished product annually, each laboratory is tasked with analyzing five to 15 batches of product per day, using LC-based methods.

As part of a continuous effort to maximize efficiency and control operational costs, the QC organization sought a new LC method that was simpler, faster, and required minimal sample preparation. In this case study, learn why CCBCU decided that the ACQUITY UPLC H-Class System and the Waters Beverage Analysis Kit matched their needs -- and how the system brought about improvements within CCBCU's manufacturing operations.