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Sol Daurella’s name may be unfamiliar in the world of celebrity entrepreneurs, yet beneath the radar she commands one of the world’s largest Coca-Cola bottler networks. As chairwoman of Coca‑Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) and through the family-controlled Equatorial Coca‑Cola Bottling Company (ECCBC), the Spanish-Catalan businesswoman sits at the center of a beverage empire that spans North and West Africa.
Her family’s link to the Coca-Cola system dates back to 1951, when the Daurellas signed their first bottling agreement in Spain. Over eight decades, the family evolved from national bottler to global player—entering Africa in 1989 and incorporating ECCBC in 1997 as their platform for growth.
Today ECCBC operates in 13 African countries: Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania, Cape Verde, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea-Conakry, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana, São Tomé & Príncipe, Equatorial Guinea and South Sudan. The company says it reaches more than 160 million consumers, serves over 250,000 points of sale and handles well in excess of two-billion transactions annually. – ECCBC’s published ESG report.
While ECCBC does not publish full disclosure of revenue by country, publicly available data suggest a turnover approaching €1 billion (≈US$1.1 billion). The African bottler says it employs more than 5,000 people directly and supports over 35,000 indirect jobs through its supply chain, logistics and distribution networks.
In this sprawling footprint, Sol Daurella is not merely a figurehead. She steers governance at CCEP and maintains board directorships in ECCBC and other bottler entities. Her corporate résumé includes roles at Banco Santander and Ebro Foods, but her core legacy remains the beverage business her family built. She is described in the company’s disclosures as having “extensive experience at Coca-Cola bottling companies” with “strong international strategic and commercial skills.”
The African operation under ECCBC reflects both ambition and complexity. As one of the Coca-Cola system’s largest regional bottlers, it invites scrutiny over sustainability, distribution logistics and currency‐risk in frontier markets. The involvement of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in financing ECCBC’s resource-efficiency and recycling programmes underscores the dual mandate: growth and responsible operation.
What makes the Daurella story unusual is its combination of multigenerational franchise control and active leadership by a woman at the helm. In an industry dominated by large, publicly-traded players and male executives, Sol Daurella stands out. She exemplifies the transition from traditional family business—based on local bottling rights—to global investment scale.
As Coca-Cola continues to rationalise its bottling system worldwide, the Daurella family platform remains resilient. Whether constrained or enabled by emerging-market volatility, it has positioned itself as a major stakeholder and regional leader. And with Sol Daurella steering the vessel, the narrative is no longer simply about bottling beverages—it is about legacy, governance and strategic global reach.
