FDBusiness.com

PepsiCo, a global food and beverage leader, is nearing completion on a €127 million investment at its Little Island production facility in County Cork, which will see the opening of additional manufacturing capacity and further investment in its R&D campus. PepsiCo currently employs more than 1,250 team members in Ireland.

Over the last two years, its Cork-based workforce has increased by more than 20%, with 642 of the total Ireland associate population based in the Little Island, Cork campus (inclusive of employees in Manufacturing and R&D locations).

The €127 million investment for the campus has provided employment to over 700 professionals across PepsiCo’s contracting and vendor partners during design and construction, and also facilitates the ever-growing headcount at the Little Island campus. With more than 40 open roles in Cork currently, the site continues to grow and expand, and this investment provides capability for further growth in the coming years.

Using state-of-the-art manufacturing technology, PepsiCo’s Little Island operation supports its portfolio of global brands including Pepsi Max, Gatorade, 7Up, Mountain Dew and Doritos. The new facility will expand PepsiCo’s Little Island manufacturing capacity across its range of beverage ingredients, support increased demand for existing PepsiCo products and play a key role in bringing PepsiCo’s innovation pipeline to its global customer base.

PepsiCo’s R&D campus in Little Island provides regional and global leadership in the areas of beverage development, product research, testing and commercialisation, quality assurance, regulatory management and, most recently, facilitated the establishment of a global R&D Digital Engineering team, which is leading significant and transformational digital initiatives for PepsiCo.

Speaking at an event to mark the investment project, Simon Coveney TD, Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment, said: “PepsiCo has had a presence in Ireland since 1974 and has grown its operations very significantly during that time. This latest significant investment reinforces the company’s recognition of Ireland as a great place to do business.”

“We have called Cork home for almost 50 years, and our longevity is a testament to the dedication of our talented workforce. This very significant expansion will allow us to increase our manufacturing capacity and ensure that we can continue to meet the global demand for our existing and future products,” said Brian Colgan, Site Lead, PepsiCo Little Island.

“This latest investment in our R&D campus delivers state-of-the-art laboratories for several quality and research teams and a new contemporary digital solutions suite,” said Breda Kennedy, R&D Senior Director, PepsiCo. “Investment in our business has driven the growth of our R&D team, from just 10 people in 2007 to more than 130 today. This continued investment will further strengthen our ability to attract the best talent across digital, engineering, analytics, food science, sensory and microbiology.”

Mary Buckley, Executive Director, IDA Ireland, said: “Continued investment in research and development is central to IDA Ireland’s strategy ‘Driving Recovery and Sustainable Growth’. This investment by PepsiCo is very welcome and demonstrates the company’s ongoing commitment to Ireland as it continues to grow its Irish operations nearly 50 years since it first established a footprint in Cork.”