PepsiCo invests £61m in India’s Uttar Pradesh

PEPSICO India has announced its plan to invest Rs 5.14 billion (£61 million) over three years, to set up a greenfield snacks manufacturing plant in Northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

The new investment plan is in line with PepsiCo’s goal to double its snacks business in the country by 2022 and is expected to help create over 1500 jobs.

As part of this project, PepsiCo India would expand its backward integration with local farmers and help bring agricultural best practices to enable socio-economic growth for potato farmers in Uttar Pradesh.

To enable the supply chain, the company will set up a cold storage facility and this would also give an impetus to the development of ancillary and other support industries in the state.

At the ceremony of the investor summit in Uttar Pradesh, PepsiCo’s senior leadership signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the representatives of the state government.

Speaking about the announcement, Ahmed ElSheikh, President and CEO, PepsiCo India, said: “…As we look to double our snacks business over the next few years, we intend to invest Rs5.14bn to expand our footprint in Uttar Pradesh.

“Agriculture is at the heart of PepsiCo and our farmer friends are the backbone of our business. As we expand our operations, we will look forward to a fruitful association that will not only help create jobs and enable ancillary industries but also ensure the socio-economic progress of potato farmers in the state.

"...PepsiCo’s new facility, once finalized, will act as a hub to address the growing demand for our snacks products amongst consumers in the state and beyond,” he further added.

PepsiCo India's intended snacks manufacturing operation in Uttar Pradesh would also expand the company’s footprint of collaborative farming for potato in the state.

PepsiCo India’s agri program presently benefits over 24,000 farmers across 14 states through various agri and sourcing initiatives, the company said in a statement.

All the potato used in Lay’s and Uncle Chipps is grown in India and sourced from Indian farmers.

Through its 360-degree farmer connect initiatives for potato cultivation, PepsiCo provides training and seed support, advanced plant protection programs, and assured buy-back with reasonable returns.