A $5-MILLION manufacturing facility that will focus on coconut juice production will be constructed in Pili, Camarines Sur by AgriNurture Inc. (ANI) and All Market Inc.

In a statement, ANI said the construction of the new facility will be completed in May 2012. It will have a capacity of 36 million liters of coconut juice each year.

ANI said the money that will be used for constructing the facility is internally-generated.

"Some 500,000 coconuts will be cracked every day to meet the growing demand for coconut juice which has become one of the most popular consumer beverages globally over the past 18 months and the most popular new beverage among professional athletes and celebrities," the company said in a statement.

On Thursday, the local government hosted a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the new facility which sits on a two-hectare property in Pili.

Vita Coco is the best-selling brand of coconut juice in the United States with expected sales of $100 milion in 2011. ANI is one of the leading exporters of fruit beverages.

In April, ANI said in a disclosure that it signed a five-year manufacturing and purchasing agreement with All Market, a Delaware corporation engaged in the sale of non-carbonated beverages in the US, Canada and the United Kingdom.

The company will manufacture All Market's coconut-water based products under the Vita Coco brand.

Ani said it will process at least 50 million liters of coconut water over the next five years to meet the requirements of All Market.

Vita Coco products are sold at over 20,000 retailers in the United States including Whole Foods Market, GNC, Kroger, Publix, Ralph's Stop & Shop/Giant, and select Costco and Wal-Mart stores.

ANI noted investors in the brand include Madonna, Demi Moore and Matthew McConaughey.