During the question and answer session. You may register to ask a question at any time by pressing star one on your touchtone phone. In the investor relations section. It's now my pleasure to introduce our speakers. Joining us from Monterrey is the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Arturo Gutiérrez.
This quarter's results, I would like to take a moment to highlight an important announcement we made last month. As you are aware, we reached a long-term commercial agreement with The Coca-Cola Company. The new cooperation framework provides clear visibility of all important aspects of our relationship and ensures the great opportunities to develop a digital alliance to build an integrated ecosystem that creates value across the digital and physical worlds, enabling our customers to adapt to a more demanding million unit cases. We achieved sequentially stronger volume, cycling 7.1% volume growth in the prior year quarter. Total consolidated revenue for the quarter grew 16.1%, reaching MXN 10.7 billion, representing a margin of 19.2% as we maintain strong top-line momentum and sequential earnings growth across all our regions.
I will now go over the results across our markets, beginning with Mexico, where we sustained a strong volume performance and posted another quarter of record volume with over 100 million unit cases for two months in a row. Volume in Mexico grew a solid 5.1%, driven by sparkling and water categories, up 4.6% and 15.5% respectively. In July, we surpassed again the monthly volume record which we set in June. We saw positive volume performance across all our channels. Channel posted a solid recovery during the month of September, with volumes up 6.4% compared to 2019, and driving sequential expansion in single serve mix up 0.7. Mexico rose 18.3% in the quarter to reach MXN 24.9 billion, marking the 25th consecutive quarter of net revenue growth. Average price.
At the end of the quarter, we reached more than 220,000 registered customers in the traditional trade, of which 71% are quarterly buyers and accounting for close to 26%. Turning now to South America. Our various businesses continued its positive momentum and delivered a strong performance across the region within 2021. The sparkling category grew 3.1% in the quarter, with Coca-Cola and Inca Kola brands sustaining positive momentum up 2.6%. Milliliter Universal Bottle refillable format. We also continued investing in market-focused initiatives, increasing cooler coverage. Year-to-date, we have installed over 11,000 cold drink units. Tonicorp, our value-added dairy business, posted sequential double-digit sales growth in the quarter while capturing additional value share. Growth was driven by yogurt, flavored milk, and ice cream categories.
Product innovation is one of the main pillars of our commercial strategy. This quarter, we expanded our yogurt segment with new flavors. Our beverage operation in the United States maintained its steady momentum and delivered another quarter of solid revenue and profit growth with its seventeenth consecutive quarter of EBITDA growth. Total revenue in the quarter increased 12.8% to $947 million, driven by strong pricing due to the off-cycle price increase implemented during the quarter and better management of promotions. Volume for the third quarter declined 0.9% to 116 million unit cases. Sparkling soft drinks declined 0.7%. Brand Coca-Cola gained 1.5%, with Coke Zero continuing to be the engine of growth, up 15.2%.
Our volume driving initiatives continue to shift volume into more profitable packages and deliver growth of 1.8% in sparkling beverages in immediate consumption packages and 9.5% in 7.5-ounce mini cans. We launched two product innovations this quarter, the 12-ounce sleek can Taste the Track, as well as 20-ounce and 7.5-ounce Dreamworld to drive demand for classic and zero packages. EBITDA for the quarter grew 13% to $129 million, representing a margin of 13.6%. OpEx to sales ratio improved by 90 basis points as we continued investing to support employee retention and engagement. We continue to make solid progress in our digital and innovation agenda with the expansion of our trade promotion optimization tool, giving us a broader ability to collect great insights to optimize our promotional spend.
This quarter marked the end of this year's collaboration with MIT's Master of Business Analytics programs. Through this partnership, we were able to design a methodology to define the optimal portfolio for each of our customers tailored to their own characteristics. Looking forward, the fourth quarter is loaded with great marketing activations such as the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour and the holiday season, which will help us continue growing transactions and our top line. In closing, our food and snacks business posted double-digit sales increase in the quarter, driven by solid pricing across all our operations. Bokados in Mexico grew EBITDA ahead of sales, capitalizing on the resilience of the traditional channel and the recovery of the modern trade and wholesale segment, along with the acceleration of the e-commerce channel. Wise Snacks doubled down on its cost efficiency program.
Several productivity initiatives are in place, including SKU rationalization to focus on high-performing items, streamlining of our supply chain to optimize freight costs and transportation logistics, among others. Moreover, we're investing in a new production line in our Berwick facility to expand kettle capacity to support the expansion of our Deep River brand. Lastly, Inalecsa posted double-digit sales and EBITDA increases in the quarter as we continue to reshape our portfolio to further increase our focus on affordability and innovation. New product launches played a key role in our profitable growth strategy. This quarter, we launched a new popcorn product line and rapidly gained share in this category. We also continue to spark consumer-centric innovation with the introduction of a new cultural product line, capitalizing on the strong brand equity of our leading confectionery portfolio. I will now give you an update on our ESG initiatives.
Our team in Ecuador was honored by the Women Economic Forum with the recognition Iconic Companies Creating a Better World for All for its consistent participation in the development of programs and strategies that promote gender equality, inclusion, and non-discrimination. Among the implemented initiatives was a program named Desarrollo, Ambiente y Reciclaje, which assists hundreds of small-scale recyclers by providing training and advice to ensure that their activities are profitable and efficient. Furthermore, Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages and The Coca-Cola Company partnered to share the new packaging for Sprite and DASANI bottles with the Texas market. The new packaging includes a transition to clear bottles from traditional green Sprite bottles, as well as 100% recycled plastic material. These changes help protect our planet by decreasing carbon emissions and minimizing new plastic, as they are a step forward in our goal to support our World Without Waste initiative.
Moreover, we reaffirm our commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals at last month's Business Summit for Sustainability, organized by the United Nations Global Compact Mexico chapter in Monterrey. At this event, we pledged our support for the Women's Empowerment Principles and continue promoting an equal opportunities environment while creating safe and inclusive workplaces. We also reaffirm our commitment to the Science Based Targets initiative as part of our ongoing efforts to reduce our carbon footprint and recognize the importance of contributing to mitigate the global climate challenge. With that, I will turn it over to Emilio. Please, Emilio.
Thanks, Arturo. Good morning, and thank you all for joining us today. I'm pleased to report that we have reached another quarter of consolidated positive volume, double-digit top line and EBITDA growth, as well as a sustained EBITDA margin compared to the same period of 2021. Despite a complex macroeconomic environment and increased inflationary pressures in all of our markets, our proactive pricing architecture strategy and operational discipline were the key pillars to achieve this outcome. Turning to the financial results for the quarter, the third quarter consolidated revenue rose 16.2%, while year-to-date growth was 15.6%, led by volume growth obtained through our market execution and pricing strategies. On a currency-neutral basis, net revenue grew 17.8% in the quarter and 16.8% in the first nine months.
During the quarter, gross profit increased 16.4% to MXN 25.1 billion. Increased pricing along with our consistent hedging strategy managed to offset any impact from raw material pricing, resulting in an 8 basis points expansion in the contribution margin. For the nine-month period, gross profit rose 14.1% to MXN 69.4 billion. Despite executing previously mentioned initiatives, gross margin declined by 60 basis points due to the volatility in raw material pricing during the first half of the year. Operating income for the quarter came in at MXN 8.4 billion, a 23.5% increase against the same quarter of 2021. The operating margin presented a 90 basis points expansion, mostly led by operational efficiencies and a strong top line, even though inflationary trends have remained on the rise.
For the first 9 months, the operating income totaled MXN 22.8 billion, a 19.8% rise and 50 basis points expansion in margin compared to the same period of the previous year, driven by the previously mentioned initiatives. Discipline and learnings over the last couple of years remain ingrained within our organization, leading to a 70 basis points reduction in our OpEx ratio to sales for the period. In the third quarter, consolidated EBITDA grew 16.1% to MXN 10.7 billion with a steady margin of 19.2%. For the cumulative period, EBITDA grew by 12.8%, while the margin declined 50 basis points due to the previously mentioned inflationary pressures on the contribution margin. Net income increased 25.1% during the quarter, a 50 basis points expansion in the net profit margin.
Year-to-date, net income reached MXN 11.5 billion. A 26.9% increase versus the previous year. Operating income growth, as well as financing expenses, contributed positively for both quarterly and year-to-date increases. Moving on to the balance sheet. Cash and equivalents at the end of September stood at MXN 34.3 billion, while total debt was MXN 49.2 billion, reaching a leverage ratio of 0.4x . The strong position of our balance sheet provides us with the possibility to further assess any growth opportunities that may arise and continue to create value for our shareholders. CapEx was MXN 6 billion as we continue to reinforce investments in our commercial capabilities as well as production, in line with current volume growth trends. These represent an increase of 23.5% when compared to the same period of last year.
All commercials and cost optimization strategies implemented throughout the first nine months of the year give a solid foundation to mitigate any possible impacts. Looking ahead, we expect higher comps in fourth quarter of 2022, as we continue to face volatility and challenging macroeconomic environment. We're confident that our operational discipline and strong pricing capabilities should enable us to sustain our strong momentum for the remainder of the year. Now, let me hand it back to Arturo.
Thank you, Emilio. This year we have been able to consistently outperform and deliver outstanding results with pricing power, operational flexibility, and a rigorous discipline in costs and expenses. Nonetheless, we are aware that the uncertainty of today's economic landscape is likely to extend into 2023. Therefore, we will remain focused on further sharpening our revenue management capabilities as consumers adjust and adapt to persistent inflationary pressures. So far, demand elasticity has been in line with our expectations. However, we will continue to closely monitor consumption trends. We will also continue accelerating our cost management initiatives and taking the appropriate actions to navigate input cost inflation and supply chain volatility. Looking ahead, we remain optimistic and excited about the future of our business. We are encouraged by the opportunities that our new cooperation framework with The Coca-Cola Company will provide.
In summary, we are pleased with the progress and trajectory of our business and remain encouraged by the long runway for growth across our markets. Thank you for the confidence you've placed in us. With that, Emilio, Pepe, and I will be glad to take your questions. Katie, please open the floor.
Thank you. At this time, if you would like to ask a question, please press star one on your touch-tone phone now. As a reminder, due to high interest and time, please limit yourself to one question. Again, please press star one to join the queue. We will pause for a moment to allow questions to queue. Thank you. Our first question will come from Marcella Recchia with Credit Suisse. Your line is now open.
Hi, gentlemen. Thank you for taking my questions. I have just two questions on my side. First, on the last, can you give us a little bit more color on the drivers of EBITDA margin expansion, and what's your view about the volume going forward, especially in the case of a potential recession? Second, regarding the multi-category framework, following this new pilot program with Diageo in Mexico, would you consider also entering the beer segment in the country, as just announced by Coke with Heineken? Thank you so much.
Thank you, Marcella. Good morning. With respect to your first question, you know, we're very satisfied with our results in the U.S., despite, you know, the volatility in raw material prices that we've seen. Margins have been sustained and improved over the years, as you've seen in our U.S. operation. I think a very important for that has been our pricing strategy, pricing leadership, I would say in the U.S. and also the focus on profitability of our packages, transactions and a better mix in general. Very important to say is that, for next year, we already have an important carryover for price for 2023. And obviously that will depend on mix changes.
You know, all in all, it would be something around 6% carryover from all the off-cycle and other price movers that we've had in 2022. That's very significant if you consider you know, the profitability of business for next year, which is certainly gonna be more challenging in some respects. Also, we're gonna have better raw material comparisons, particularly in aluminum. I would say more stable PET, maybe some impact in fructose. The volume for our market still has to recover. We have an upside in the on-premise channel particularly. That's another of the positive things going forward.
Obviously, we will maintain our OpEx discipline as we've had before. Despite the headwinds, our expectation is to, you know, sustain our margins and to continue to have strong profitability for 2023 because of those reasons. With respect to our multi-category framework, as we've said before, the whole concept is how we can leverage our capabilities, our go-to-market capabilities in our markets in Latin America. I think with, you know, with new technologies, with our digital initiatives, we know that we can expand into other categories. The pilot that we're gonna launch, and we announced in Jalisco is an example of that. Certainly beer would be a, you know, a very clear opportunity. As you know, we already sell beer in Argentina.
We have a pilot in Ecuador that has been successful, and we have been having conversations and considering that opportunity for Mexico as well. We have nothing specific to announce at this point, but certainly that is something that we are exploring. Jointly with the Coca-Cola Company, we think it is a very important opportunity for our Mexican market as well.
Perfect. Thank you so much.
Thank you, Marcella.
Thank you. Our next question will come from Benjamin Theurer with Barclays. Your line is now open.
Perfect. Thank you very much, and good morning. Congrats on the results. Just following along the lines with the agreement and what you can do and how you can leverage, call it the flexibility, with The Coca-Cola Company now. Obviously you've stressed it just in your comments right now, there's a lot that you can do within Latin America for go-to-market, and I get it, there's a lot of white space just given the nature of the traditional channel. Where do you see any potential to leverage what would be flexibility within the U.S. territory?
I mean, it's about one third of your portfolio, but what could you envision or what could work out for you, to also leverage the greater flexibility with The Coca-Cola Company to potentially deliver things in the U.S., aside from the beverages portfolio and the snacks?
Thank you, Ben. As you know, the agreement that we've signed and this new collaboration framework refers specifically to Latin America. What we've discussed with the Coca-Cola Company, and this was actually a conversation at a global meeting with all bottlers, is there has to be a model that would be adapted to the different markets around the world. This is something that represents a new form of partnership for Coca-Cola with bottlers around the world. Certainly the different markets would require you know different approaches to capitalize on you know the presence in the market and the infrastructure that you have in any particular market. In the case of Latin America, we've identified very clearly those opportunities.
We would have to, you know, analyze what would make sense in the U.S. for our, you know, current, go-to-market, approach. At the end, you know, the framework is about basically about alignment with the Coca-Cola Company. If you think about the U.S. market there, a number of things where we can have better alignment, I would say mostly in our stills, opportunities going forward, and I think that would be our first priority in that market. Certainly, the big change in mindset and paradigm is that the whole system bottlers and the company are much more open to explore opportunities beyond our core business. To understand that, you know, we can do other things without affecting, even improving the performance of the core business.
That's something to be defined in the other markets.
Perfect. Thank you very much, Arturo.
Thank you, Ben.
Thank you. Our next question will come from Fernando Olvera with Bank of America. Your line is now open.
Hi. Good morning, everyone, and thanks for taking my questions. The first one is. It's about Mexico. Regarding the pricing seen this quarter, can you give us a breakdown of how much came from price hikes and how much from mix? And also, can you comment if additional price hikes are needed to be able to recover your margins? Just very quickly, given the strength of your balance sheet, how are you thinking about dividends towards the end of the year, considering that you have distributed extraordinary dividends in the last couple of years? Thank you.
Thank you, Fernando. I will turn it over to Pepe for the first part and Emilio for your second question. The first part, I'll just tell you that, you know, price leadership has been so important for us in every market, including Mexico. It's not only about pricing and how much we have accomplished, but also, you know, what is behind that. I would say in general that we have much more robust processes for pricing in every market. I think what you've seen now is the result of how those capabilities have been rolled out in every market. For the specific details, I'll turn it over to Pepe.
Yeah. Thank you, Arturo, and thanks Fernando for your question. As you know, we always aim to maintain a balance between market share, profitability, volume growth. That is based on our world-class execution and segmentation. Our aim is to always increase prices in line or above with inflation. We will continue to utilize pricing as one of our key top line drivers, leveraging our installed RGM capabilities and segmented brand price pack architecture, maximizing the pricing decisions. In Mexico, what I can tell you in the total AC, for example, in 2022, 74% of our incremental volume is coming from single serve presentations. That's why on top of the true rate increases that we are having, also the mix is working in our favor.
You know, in Mexico specifically, we're growing our price 8.6% versus previous year, and this comes from a balance of 8.2% coming from price increases in the first and third quarter, focused primarily on single serve, and even though single serve is growing, as I said, and also a carryover of 3.1% from previous year. We have a positive impact of 0.4% as single serve mix is growing 1.3 percentage points versus previous year. That is coming because we are capturing the gradual recovery of immediate consumption channels and the launch of specific packages of the 250 mL multi-category platform as entry packages. For the rest of the year, we have already 8.4% of carryover.
We are going to enter 2023 with at least a 3% carryover for next year. As we said, maintaining that balance between share profitability and volume growth, we will evaluate another increase in December if we see there's space for that, and we can do it. Emilio, I think I'll pass it to Emilio with the other question.
Yes. Thank you for your question. Regarding dividends, as you know, we have a policy to pay 30% of retained earnings, which we already did with an ordinary dividend of MXN 388 . On our shareholders' general meeting, it was approved to the board that the board could authorize any extraordinary dividend as we did in the past two years. That may come in the next months if there's no M&A, you know, operational transaction. We'll have to wait for the rest of the year, if that's approved by the board.
Great. Thank you so much.
Thank you, Fernando.
Thank you. Our next question will come from Sergio Matsumoto with Citigroup. Your line is now open.
Yes, hi. Good morning. Thank you for taking my question, Arturo, Emilio, and Pepe. My questions are on about Mexico. First is on you mentioned 15% growth from the supermarket channel. Just wanted to get some color on whether, how much of that was due to the water sale due to the tap water shortage or perhaps it was a base of comparison that was normal for you. Also how does the digital platform help in that channel? That's the first question about the supermarket. The next question is more broadly.
With all the talks about nearshoring and reshoring, you know, back to Mexico, are you seeing any tangible observation you can point to, or is it still a lot of discussions so far? Thanks.
Yeah. Thank you, Sergio. I will address the second question first and then turn it over to Pepe for the first part. With respect to nearshoring, this is a very important point, and it's not only a conversation, it's a reality of investment in many parts of Mexico. I will tell you, Mexico is really segmented in that regard. If you look at north of Mexico and some other regions that have the infrastructure to attract that investment, there's been a lot of activity. There are some restrictions. Actually, labor has been one of them and some other infrastructure restrictions.
There is a lot of investment coming in to those parts of the country, particularly in the north part of Mexico, in the border towns and here in the northeastern part. I participated in a group with the Mexican private sector that is working on making recommendations to the governments of Mexico and the U.S. to precisely capture investment opportunities for the region. This is called the U.S.-Mexico CEO Dialogue. We have companies in the U.S. and in Mexico that participate, and I co-chair the investment section of that initiative.
I can tell you that we've identified a number of supply chains. Actually 11 supply chains that are gonna be relocated or could be relocated to our country. We presented to the government, actually to the President of Mexico and senior officials of the U.S., two very concrete opportunities among those 11 supply chains that would come here and what is required. These are not only conceptual ideas, tangible plans, and also investment that it's already coming in into the sectors that previously existed here in Mexico.
I think that's gonna be a tremendous opportunity for Mexico, you know, having a free trade agreement, having just the logistics advantage with the U.S. for the next few years as you know as supply chains kind of regionalize around the world. That's a very, very important point, Sergio. For your first question, I'll turn it over to Pepe Borda.
Thanks Arturo, and thanks, Sergio, for your question. First of all, regarding the growth in the supermarket channel, yes, in the quarter to grow 15%, but it's pretty much from a revaluation from what's happened in the last three or four years with the pandemic. If you go back to numbers against 2019, we see that the traditional trade channel has grown over 8%, and the modern trade has grown around 10%. The on-premise channel is the channel that despite growing 15% in this quarter, still is below 2019 figures for the year to date. But catching up, already -3% in September. That comes mainly because the entertainment channels, cinemas, and those have not recovered yet.
The restaurants and bars already have. Water category has grown around 16%, not only in Mexico, also in South America, growing 13%. To specifically to your question, the water category has benefited from the events in the last quarter, but that's come mainly across channels, not specifically in supermarkets. Regarding the digital platforms, we do have EDI, Electronic Data Interchange, with most of our biggest supermarket channels since a long time ago. And we always perfect those systems and work together with them to make them as seamless and as profitable as possible. Hope that answers your question.
Yes, it does. Thank you, Pepe and Emilio. Very interesting.
Thank you, Sergio.
Thank you. Our next question will come from Felipe Ucros with Scotiabank. Your line is now open.
Thank you. Good morning, Arturo, Emilio and Pepe. Congrats on the results and thanks for the space for questions. A couple on my end. The first one is on returnables, right? As inflation rises and it starts getting to the breaking point for the consumer, how do you manage returnables to provide affordability? Are you proactive in making it more available in the market, or do you wait for the consumer to start sort of pulling it? And just also wondering the role that the Universal Bottle plays in this, given that the portfolio is somewhat different from what it used to be the last time we had a recession, throughout the entire region.
Just wondering if the rollout of Universal Bottle is where you want it to be and you're very prepared for this or if there's a little more to go with the Universal Bottle before getting into the recession. Then I'll make a follow-up question about snacks.
Yeah. Thank you, Felipe. Good morning. With respect to returnables, I'll make a general point and then turn it over to Pepe. I would say it's certainly a very deliberate strategy for us in Latin American markets, and it becomes more relevant precisely when there are difficult economic times. We've been doing this, you know, for many years. The point here is that it's not only about, you know, presenting the options to the consumer. It's actually, you know, an operational capability that we have. It requires a coordination. It requires, you know, distribution capabilities that are different. It's harder for someone just to start doing returnables overnight.
It requires investment, certainly on the one hand, but also a way of operating that is different to a normal, more simplified business with one-way packages. That is why we're doing, and also introducing the bottles to the market and doing it in a most effective way so that they can be used and they can end up with a consumer that would precisely buy those types of packages. It's a pretty, you know, sophisticated capability, I would say, and we've developed that. If you see our mix of returnables in the different markets, we've been very successful in some markets, Mexico, Argentina.
I think we have a good opportunity in some of the other markets where Ecuador is becoming very relevant, for example. We've been focused on that opportunity. Same thing in Peru. In that regard, Universal Bottle has become a very important part of that strategy. I'll let Pepe share more details on that.
Universal Bottle.
Thank you, Arturo, and thank you, Felipe, for your question. As Arturo was saying, the Universal Bottle is one of our most important initiatives in Latin, as it helps us increase the mix of affordable options, not only in Coca-Cola, but also in flavors and stills, and that is going to be even more important in a recession environment in the near future. Today, Universal Bottle multi-serve packages represent around 20% of our total multi-serve with returnable portfolio in Latin. During the next years, we are going to continue developing returnables and the Universal Bottle. As Arturo said, this is a long-term play.
In the short term, mixes can go up or down because of specific promotional activity, the long term aim is to increase our offering in Universal Bottle in the longer run. In the short term, we've had some supply chain limitations in production due to a shortage of glass in some presentations. As this continues to get solved within the next months, we're going to be able to further expand our Universal Bottle and refillable options, and that's increasing our consumer base, protecting the bottom of the pyramid. I hope that's.
That's it.
That's very clear, guys. Thanks. Maybe if I can do a follow-up on snacks, you know. In Mexico, I think Bokados had double-digit top line in EBITDA for something like six quarters in a row. Similar with Inalecsa, I think my count is at five quarters or even maybe a little more. And Wise didn't see the same in EBITDA, but it's four quarters of double-digit top line. So clearly snacks are doing very well. Just wondering if this is just still a recovery from the pandemic or if you're already above that and still growing at these rates because execution and turnaround plans have gone better than you expected. Then more importantly, maybe what's the long-term plan for this business?
Yeah. With respect to snacks, you know, the operations in Latin America were less impacted, I would say, especially Bokados in Mexico was more resilient. In Ecuador, just because of how difficult was the situation with COVID, we had a, you know, bigger impact. In general, those businesses have been more stable from a profitability standpoint. In the case of Wise, we did have a significant impact, particularly in Deep River, with our, you know, on-premise and on-the-go markets during the pandemic and mostly in the northeast of the U.S., which is our one of our main markets. I would say that in for Wise, this is more of a recovery of the business. You know, it's been a great recovery.
We've been posting double-digit sales increase, and we've also improved profitability. The Deep River portfolio keeps growing profitably. We're capitalizing on e-commerce, and we're focusing on RGM practices and SKU rationalization and also on restructuring our whole distribution network in the U.S. I would say it's a much bigger transformation than what is going on in Wise. We're very satisfied, but I wouldn't say that we're at the point of stability of that business yet. We're heading in that direction, I would say for 2023.
That business, going to the final part of your question, you know, it's probably less synergistic with the rest of our operation, if you compare that with Latin America, because we operate in different markets too, in comparison to what we do in Mexico and Ecuador in the U.S., we still are working on improving that operation, but certainly not as connected to our various business as it is in the Latin American markets.
Very helpful color. Thanks, guys.
Thank you, Felipe.
Thank you. Our next question will come from Thiago Bortoluci with Goldman Sachs. Your line is now open.
Yes, good morning, everyone. Arturo, Arca team, congrats on the results and thank you for taking questions. I would like to follow up also on the enhanced cooperation agreement with Coke. My question is regarding inorganic opportunities, right? I'd just like to understand, with this better alignment of interest and a common focus on pursuing further growth, does it change at all the position Arca might have on driving further consolidation into Coke's broad distribution system going forward? Where does Arca currently sit in terms of, you know, potential M&A and inorganic growth going forward? This is the question that I think is very material.
Thank you, Thiago. Well, I would say that, you know, the context of M&A and inorganic opportunities remain the same. What we've said is that we believe that, you know, the system is still, you know, fragmented in many regions around the world, and that fragmentation presents opportunities. Just based on, you know, what we've seen before in operations, not only in our company, but in, you know, other partners and how value has been captured through scale, what we've said is that.
This business had became, over the years, much more a business where economies of scale were relevant than the past when you had smaller franchises that, you know, didn't require the benefits of scale as much as we have right now. Not only because of, you know, larger customers and more complex distribution, but also some of the capabilities that we talked about in RGM and digital sometimes require scale and also, you know, ESG initiatives, those kind of things. The business requires more scale. There's a fragmentation, so the normal thing to happen for the future is more consolidation. As we said, we wanna participate because that is the first of all, the mandate that we have from our board.
We have the financial capability, and more importantly, I think we have developed the capabilities to integrate businesses, not only in our original markets, which is Latin America, but also in the U.S. That, you know, the success we've had in the U.S. over the last five and a half years has been very important for us to demonstrate how, you know, we can leverage those capabilities for further growth. On the other hand, you know, those transactions require patience 'cause the business was very resilient. Some of the companies and the owners are satisfied with where they are and not prepared to take strategic decisions sometimes at this point.
On our side, we have been very prudent about valuation of businesses and cautious about, you know, making sure the synergies are captured and creating value for us as we integrate and acquire. Nothing to announce at this point, but I think the opportunities will arise over time because I think that's just the natural trend of our bottling system around the world.
That's great. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Thiago.
Thank you. Our next question will come from Lucas Ferreira with JP Morgan. Your line is now open.
Hi, everybody. Two follow-ups on the multi-category. Maybe the first one for Pepe. If you can give, Pepe, an update on how Arca is ready on a B2B, let's say, digital capabilities to leverage the multi-category across the region. How is the adoption of your clients to, let's say, online order taking? How much do you interact with your B2B clients on an online basis and 'Cause that I think is a key part of the success, right? For the multi-category strategy. How advanced you are in that, what are the challenges? And maybe the second one for Arturo on that discussion, the previous question, Arturo.
Just wanted to understand if, well, you guys have been super vocal about, M&A opportunities in the U.S., but correct me if I'm wrong, but U.S. is much more mature than Latin America in terms of, distribution. You have a very, like, say, consolidated, food service delivery, you know, network. While Latin America is much more of like a fragmented, so this is where you guys could add most value with the small mom-and-pop shops. But, does it mean that you going more multi-category now, makes like maybe opportunities for consolidation within Latin America more interesting than they were before? Or not necessarily you guys think that M&A U.S. would probably be the next, big step for Arca?
Thank you, Lucas. Maybe I'll address the second part, Pepe, if that's okay, and then I'll turn it over. Yeah, with respect to, you know, M&A, there could be some differences as we evaluate synergies, as you say, and I'd, you know, probably I could agree with that. Still, I think it makes a lot of sense for us to look for opportunities. I certainly we won't discriminate if we have opportunities in either part of the continent, if it's the U.S. or Latin America and whether it's acquisitions or some other, you know, creative way to integrate business.
We're even though that might be the case, it really won't change our approach into trying to identify you know potential opportunities to integrate and synergize in the future. We're convinced that you know there are synergies in the U.S. and Latin America, maybe even in other markets, which are not our focus at this point probably for different reasons, as you say. We have enough information about you know the U.S. now to know that there are real and very very concrete synergies to be attained.
With respect to multi-category and the B2B opportunity, I think with the signing of the new collaboration agreement, we have now the possibility of integrating much better what we had been doing in terms of B2B multi-category in our own independent approach through Yomp! over time, now with what we have been doing with the B2B of AC Digital for Coca-Cola. I’ll let Pepe expand.
Thanks, Arturo, and thanks, Lucas, for your question. As Arturo was saying, you know, while we continue optimizing the current business through digitization.
Our main focus today is converging this present forward approach of optimizing the current business and optimizing and digitizing our commercialization with a future back approach of digitizing the traditional trade, multi-category distribution and the direct to consumer channel. As with the LTCA signing, we are starting to integrate Yomp! With AC Digital in one B2B2C digital ecosystem, aiming to become the best solution for our traditional trade and continue being perceived as the best partner for the traditional trade. We've talked many times about it that why are we doing this is because we want to increase sales of our current portfolio and optimize our current cost to serve. We want to expand our portfolio.
We want to develop and strengthen the traditional trade and our partners with them. Maybe and probably another one that is getting more insights from all this experience to help the other three. As of the third quarter, AC Digital in LatAm reached 550,000 registered customers, which represents close to 70% of the customers in the traditional trade and accounting for 23% of the volume in the last quarter. We plan to close the year with close to 35% of our traditional trade sales through digital channels. To give some perspective, year to date, 2022, $420 million of revenues have been through digital channels.
If we only take October 2022 and make it a 12-month running rate, that number is already $1.1 billion that are going through our digital channels in the traditional trade. For the next year, this number will be between $2 billion and $3 billion with WhatsApp and the integration of Yomp! and AC Digital. Why this is important, because we have seen that customers that adopted AC Digital as their ordering channel have experienced at least between 3% and 5% sales growth versus non-adopters, putting 11% more orders and selling 15% more SKUs. We plan to increase that. In the U.S. also, in the U.S., during the third quarter, myCoke sales footprint reached $116 million. That's 29% over the previous year.
We saw 80% of our eligible monthly customers using myCoke during September. We have made significant progress in digitizing customer engagement, aligned with Apple.
Yeah, super helpful. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Lucas.
Thank you. Our next question will come from Rodrigo Alcantara with UBS. Your line is now open.
Hi, Arturo, Emilio. Nice talking to you again. Just to complement your day discussion. Yeah, you mentioned the beginning of some investments in new capacity. I was wondering if you can comment about that and any other projects that you have in the pipeline there to increase your production capacity, perhaps on the snacks in Mexico and in the U.S.. Thank you very much.
Hi, Rodrigo, and thank you for your question. Yes, I think that you know as we move into a post-pandemic scenario, we've identified that we require to invest for growth in you know every one of our business units. The investments that we have in our plan are in the typical basic things that we invest year-over-year. It's as you know in coolers especially assets for the market in our you know warehouses in renovating our facilities and trucks obviously returnable bottles as I mentioned before.
Probably, now we're gonna have more focus in some of the investments in our supply chain to make sure that we have enough capacity to satisfy demand now that we've had, you know, some disruptions in supply chain and the peak season this year, we've identified opportunities going forward. Most of those disruptions, I would say, were external from suppliers and from the, you know, freight and other supply chain issues. There are some things that are internal as well. We're thinking about new distribution centers in some of the major metropolitan areas that we serve, some new production lines, and very importantly, we're investing in Topo Chico line.
I would say that would be the most relevant, if you can call it extraordinary investment, although it's really part of our operation. We're installing new lines in our Topo Chico facility precisely to face the growing demand for Topo Chico, both in Mexico and the U.S. I would say that would be, you know, those would be the most relevant items. But in terms of the level of investment, that would be consistent with what Emilio has been, you know, telling you over the years.
Okay, now that's very clear. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Rodrigo.
Thank you. This does conclude today's Q&A. I will now turn the call back over to management for closing remarks.
Okay. Thank you. Thank you all for participating in our call and for your continued interest in our company. We look forward to speaking with you again soon. Have a nice day. Thank you.
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's conference. You may now disconnect.