PepsiCo to Invest $5.5 Billion in India by 2020
PepsiCo and its partners plan to invest Rs33,000 crores ($5.5 billion) in India by 2020.India currently represents one of PepsiCo’s largest markets globally.
Indra Nooyi, chairman and chief executive of PepsiCo, comments: “India is a country with huge potential and it remains an attractive, high-priority market for PepsiCo. We’ve built a highly successful business in India over the course of many years, and we believe we’ve only scratched the surface of the long-term growth opportunities that exist for PepsiCo and our partners. This investment is PepsiCo’s vote of confidence inIndia’s future and it represents our deep commitment to this great country.”
The $5.5 billion investment is expected to further strengthen and expand PepsiCo’s capabilities in the following strategic areas:
* Innovation: PepsiCo will continue to expand the range of foods and beverages in its portfolio to cater to the wide and evolving needs of Indian consumers. PepsiCo has a long history of successfully innovating for the Indian market, and PepsiCo India already has organically built eight brands that generate Rs1,000 crores or more in estimated annual retail sales (Pepsi, Lay’s, Kurkure, 7UP, Slice, Mirinda, Mountain Dew and Aquafina).
* Manufacturing: PepsiCo plans to significantly increase manufacturing capacity to meet the growing demand for its foods and beverages. PepsiCo and its partners plan to expand their production capacity inIndiato more than double current levels by 2020.
* Infrastructure: PepsiCo and its partners plan to ramp up selling and delivery infrastructure throughout the country, with a particular focus on rural market expansion. As part of this strategic initiative, PepsiCo will work with its partners to deploy new technologies designed to enhance service to retail customers and increase efficiency across go-to-market systems.
* Agriculture: Resources will be allocated to expand PepsiCo’s well-known collaborative farming program, which provides farmers with access to good quality seeds, technical agronomic expertise, bank loans and crop insurance. This program currently reaches 24,000 farmers, positively impacting their income and social standing in addition to strengthening the reliability and quality of PepsiCo’s supply chain.
“Most importantly, our investments will be aligned with India’s interests,” Indra Nooyi adds. “We will be guided by ‘Performance with Purpose’, PepsiCo’s vision for building a profitable and sustainable 21st century corporation that is a good investment for our shareholders, a good environment for our employees, a good citizen in our communities and a good steward of our planet’s resources. We believe ‘Performance with Purpose’ will drive sustained value for PepsiCo and positively contribute to India’s development well into the future.”
Since opening its first operations in India in 1990, PepsiCo is estimated to have created opportunities for more than 200,000 people in the country through direct or indirect employment and agricultural collaborations. It is estimated that the latest strategic initiative will add more than 100,000 new employment opportunities, as well as strengthen India as a center of talent development for PepsiCo.
In addition, as part of this strategic initiative, PepsiCo and its partners plan to implement state-of-the-art technologies to further reduce energy, packaging and water use in their operations. PepsiCo also intends to expand water recharge programs to sustain positive water balance.
