PepsiCo Inc on Monday said the company and its partners have plans to invest Rs 33,000 crore ($5.5 billion) in India by 2020.
In a statement, PepsiCo Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Indra Nooyi, said, “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 in India’s future and it represents our deep commitment to this great country.”
The company said that this investment will go into expanding the range of foods and beverage portfolio to cater to the evolving needs of Indian consumers.
It said that it has already organically built eight brands that generate Rs 1,000 crore or more in estimated annual retail sales. (Pepsi, Lay’s, Kurkure, 7UP, Slice, Mirinda, Mountain Dew and Aquafina).
To raise capacity
The food and beverage major will also significantly increase manufacturing capacity to meet the growing demand for its products in India.
“PepsiCo and its partners plan to expand their production capacity in India to more than double current levels by 2020,” the company said.
Sales infrastructure
These investments will also be used to ramp up selling and delivery infrastructure throughout the country with a particular focus on rural market expansion and to expand its collaborative farming programme.
Nooyi said that these investments will be aligned with India’s interests. “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,” she added.