Higher price boosts PepsiCo's sales in the first quarter

The Wendy's Company has announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Kirk Tanner as Wendy's President and CEO, effective February 5, 2024. Mr. Tanner will succeed Todd Penegor, who will depart from the Company and Board in February after serving in senior leadership positions at Wendy's for more than a decade. Mr. Tanner has also been elected to serve on the Wendy's Board of Directors.

Tanner most recently served as Chief Executive Officer of North American Beverages at PepsiCo, Inc., and joins Wendy's with more than 30 years of experience across beverages, snacks and foodservice. At PepsiCo, he oversaw the $26+ billion business unit, which accounts for approximately 30% of PepsiCo's overall business, driving operational performance and revenue growth, the incubation and launch of new products and the entrance into new markets over the course of his tenure. Prior to his most recent role, Mr. Tanner oversaw PepsiCo's Global Foodservice division, during which time he expanded the Company's presence in foodservice through strategic partnerships, new product lines and significant deals with major sports leagues and restaurant chains.

"We are thrilled to welcome an executive of Kirk's caliber to the Wendy's team," said Nelson Peltz, Chairman of the Wendy's Board. "Kirk is a proven operational leader whose customer-centric mindset and broad experience positioning and growing some of the most well-known global brands make him the ideal candidate to lead Wendy's into its next phase of growth and expansion."

"I am honored to have the opportunity to lead this iconic brand at such a pivotal time in the industry," said Mr. Tanner. "I am energized by the future potential and expansion opportunities for the business. I look forward to working with the talented Wendy's team and franchisees to drive future growth and success."

Mr. Peltz continued, "On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Todd for his tremendous contributions to Wendy's over the years. Through his leadership, Wendy's has driven strong growth in sales, earnings and new restaurant counts, forging an industry-leading partnership with the franchise community and a robust digital business. We wish him nothing but the best in his next chapter."

"I am grateful to the Wendy's team for their dedication and am immensely proud of all we have achieved together," said Mr. Penegor. "I'm confident the Company is in highly capable hands with Kirk at the helm. My Wendy's roots run deep, and while the time is right for me to move on as an executive of this great organization, I will forever be a supporter as a loyal customer."

Burger King is currently in negotiations with Coca-Cola to establish an exclusive beverage partnership, potentially ending its decade-long collaboration with PepsiCo.

The executives have indicated that the agreement will be finalized and publicly disclosed by the conclusion of the upcoming quarter.

Burger King has had an affiliation with PepsiCo since its inception in India back in 2014.

One executive mentioned, "Coca-Cola has been actively promoting its 'Coke with meals' initiative and holds a 15 percent ownership stake in the food delivery platform Thrive. Thrive, which competes with Swiggy and Zomato, boasts a substantial network of over 14,000 restaurants. This collaboration is mutually advantageous for both restaurants and the beverage manufacturer, and it played a significant role in sealing the agreement with Coca-Cola."

Another executive stated that the level of involvement with PepsiCo at the highest level was constrained.

In India, Burger King has maintained an exclusive collaboration with PepsiCo, despite its global alignment with Coca-Cola. Similarly, KFC and Pizza Hut in India have exclusive agreements to offer PepsiCo's beverages.

This arrangement will provide Coca-Cola with instant access and a strong presence in more than 391 Burger King outlets, including its coffee and beverage subsidiary "BK Cafe" throughout India.

In April of this year, Coca-Cola India made its inaugural investment in an Indian startup by acquiring a share in Thrive, a venture owned by Hashtag Loyalty.

FMCG-major PepsiCo Inc and Beyond Meat Inc has partnered to develop and sell snacks and beverages made from plant-based protein.

Beyond Meat's shares, which gained about 65% last year, were up 22.4% in premarket trading, while those of PepsiCo were up 1%, reported Reuters.

In last one year, we have seen many QSR chain launching products with plant-based meat products. Recently, Domino’s in India became the latest player to launch plant-based pizza in the country.

Also Read: Beyond Meat to expand breakfast sausages to 5000 additional stores

Beyond Meat suffered a surprise loss in its last reported quarter as demand for its products at restaurants and grocery stores tapered after an initial surge at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With this partnership, Beyond Meat can have access to a wide network of PepsiCo’s distribution and marketing resources and allow it to expand into new product lines, shared Ethan Brown, CEO, Beyond Meat.

PepsiCo has also been looking to expand its portfolio of health-focused snacks and beverages.

May Interest: PepsiCo to buy Chinese snack brand Be & Cheery

"Plant-based proteins represent an exciting growth opportunity for us, a new frontier in our efforts to build a more sustainable food system," said Ram Krishnan, Global chief commercial officer, PepsiCo.

The financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed and the operations will be managed through a newly created entity, PLANeT Partnership LLC.

PepsiCo to buy the energy drink maker Rockstar Energy Beverages for $3.85 billion.

PepsiCo and Coca-Cola in their pursuit of consumers that have a much wider variety of drinks to choose has moved aggresively to expand their business. Both must compete with smaller seltzer, soda, sparkling juice and energy drink makers that each market to a subset of consumers.

Coca-Cola, branched out from its Classic Coke to keep customers who have given up, or cut back drastically on sugary drinks. The company said in its most recent quarter that Coca-Cola Zero Sugar had double digit sales gains last year. With the acquisition of Costa Coffee in 2018, the sale of tea and Coffee grew 4% in the final three months of 2019.

The acquisition announced on Wednesday is a huge milestone for PepsiCo as it expands its portfolio of energy drinks. Mountain Dew's Kickstart, GameFuel and AMP are some other drinks in the same category.

Rockstar was founded in 2001 by entrepreneur Russel Weiner. Today it makes 30 variations of drinks that is sold in more than 30 countries. Based out of Las Vegas, PepsiCo and Rockstar have had a distribution agreement in North America since 2009.

The company aims to close the deal in the first half of the year.

PepsiCo, the US multinational food and beverage maker, will acquire Be & Cheery, the Chinese snack brand, from local jujube maker Haoxiangni Health Food Co Ltd for $705 million.

This acquisition is in line with PepsiCo’s goal to become China's leading consumer-focused food and beverage company.

Ram Krishnan, CEO of PepsiCo Greater China, said, “Be & Cheery adds direct-to-consumer capability, positioning us to capitalise on continued growth in e-commerce, and a local brand that is able to stretch across a broad portfolio of products, through both online and offline channels.”

“We also expect to leverage Be & Cheery's innovation and consumer insights capabilities to drive innovation in other key PepsiCo growth markets,” he added.

Incorporated in 2003, Be & Cheery is one of the largest online snack companies in China. It sells snacks from nuts to dried fruits mainly on Chinese e-commerce platforms. The company posted revenues of about 5 billion yuan ($711.7 million) in 2019.

Kurkure has unveiled two new flavours, Gazab Golmaal and Herapheri Hungama. These new flavours have been launched through a unique TVC (television commercial) featuring Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar.

Recently, Kumar has been announced as the face of the brand. He is seen trying to decode the masalas of the new flavours in a never-seen-before, triple role in the film.

The launch of new flavours comes as part of Kurkure’s strategy to innovate and introduce distinct yet delicious flavours for every palate across India.

Dilen Gandhi, Senior Director and Category Head, foods, PepsiCo India, said, “Kurkure has always aimed at becoming a key part of the lives of its consumers not only through its memorable and quirky storytelling, but also through its extensive portfolio of unique offerings.”

“We are thrilled to launch Gazab Golmaal and Herapheri Hungama with an element of mystery to tease the taste-buds of our consumers. It will be very exciting to see how these exciting new flavours leave them guessing the ingredients, while wanting for more,” he added.

The snack brand has always targeted to add a spark of quirky masti into the everyday lives of its consumers through its wide array of product offerings and innovative storytelling.

Gandhi further stated, “The masala and quirk of brand Kurkure have certainly gone up several notches with the country’s most celebrated actor, Akshay Kumar, coming on-board with us. We are certain that the launch of the new flavours, as well as the association with Kumar, will hit our consumers with non-stop humour and unmatched quirky masti.”

Kurkure’s new TVC

Recently, the brand has launched the hatke TVC where Akshay Kumar is seen in triple-generation avatars. He portrays himself as a young lad, a father and a grandfather.

Ritu Nakra, WPP Lead, PepsiCo Foods, said, “Kurkure brings two new mystery flavours and with it the opportunity to innovate the creative format. Launching Akshay Kumar, the king of entertainment, in a manner which drives relevance and enjoyment with youth became the task the team took on. #BaapReBaap is the first of many such crazy masaledaar stories from the brand.”

The new Kurkure Gazab Golmaal and Herapheri Hungama flavours are available for a limited time at Rs 5 and Rs 10 across traditional retail outlets as well as e-commerce platforms. 

Varun Beverages, a bottling partner of PepsiCo India, has reported 83.73% increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 81.12 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2019. The company had posted a profit of Rs 44.15 crore in the year-ago period.

Varun Beverages’ revenue from operations during the quarter stood at Rs 1,776.85 crore as compared to Rs 1,204.47 crore in July-September 2018. Its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose by 54.2% to Rs 325.66 crore from Rs 211.24 crore.

The company is following the January-December financial year.

Ravi Jaipuria, Chairman of Varun Beverages, said, “Our India business has delivered organic volume growth of 17.5 per cent and our international territories have registered a 27 per cent growth led by exceptional performance in under-penetrated territories acquired in 2017 and early 2018.”

“Moreover, our key markets like Morocco, Zimbabwe, Nepal and Sri Lanka also reported double-digit growth in the current quarter,” he added.

The company has been associated with PepsiCo for more than 27 years, accounting for 80% of the US firm's beverage sales volume in India.

PepsiCo India has announced athlete Hima Das as the Brand Ambassador for its sports drink brand Gatorade. India ace sprinter joins athletes PV Sindhu and Neeraj Chopra who also promote the brand in India.

The company said in a statement, “Gatorade India will also work with Hima Das during the period of partnership to understand her training and race-day nutrition better.”

Tarun Bhagat, Director-Marketing, Hydration and Cola, PepsiCo India, stated, “We are delighted to welcome Hima Das into Gatorade’s family of athletes. Hima personifies the spirit of the brand through her persevering attitude and unwavering spirit to win. We believe that Gatorade is the perfect fuel to partner with Hima Das as she sets out to achieve new accolades for the country.”

The sports drink brand is actively working with sportspersons across the world. In the last few years, Gatorade worked with Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, Argentine professional footballer Lionel Messi, and American tennis star Serena Williams and Real Madrid’s James Rodriguez, among others.

Das added, “I am honored to join the Gatorade family which consists of sporting legends across the world. I am looking forward to working with them to understand my hydration requirements and using the insights to better my athletic performance.”

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As part of its sustainability strategy, PepsiCo is eyeing to reduce the use of virgin plastic content by 35% across its beverage portfolio by 2025.

The company's target will be achieved through the increased use of recycled content and alternative packaging materials by many of its beverage brands like Bubly, Aquafina and Lifewtr.

The beverage giant also aims to expand the SodaStream business, which it bought for $3.2 billion last year. This expansion will help the company in stopping the use of approximately 67 billion single-use plastics by 2025.

This new target is in line with PepsiCo’s existing sustainability targets. The company eyes to make 100% of its packaging recyclable, compostable, or biodegradable; and increase its use of recycled content in plastic packaging to 25%.

Ramon Laguarta, Chairman and CEO, PepsiCo, said, “While our efforts are far from done, this is one more step in PepsiCo’s journey toward helping to build a world where plastics need never become waste.”

“Even as we work to accelerate business growth, we continue to make important progress toward a circular economy for packaging, a responsibility we take very seriously,”

Simon Lowden, President of PepsiCo Global Foods, and the Head of PepsiCo’s ‘Plastic Agenda’, stated, “We’re intentionally setting ambitious goals to drive meaningful progress. PepsiCo is already one of the world’s largest buyers of recycled plastic, and if there was more available, we’d buy it – and if there were more markets where we could use it, we would. We are committed, and partnership is key.”

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PepsiCo’s partner Varun Beverages will buy an additional 20% stake in Lunarmech Technologies Pvt Ltd for Rs 15 crore. Lunarmech makes and sells pet bottle caps and crown caps.

The deal will increase Varun Beverages’ stake in Lunarmech to 55%.

Through Angelica Technologies Pvt Ltd, Varun Beverages already owns a stake in Lunarmech. The company holds a 47.30% stake in Angelica, which owns 74% of Lunarmech.

Incorporated in May 2009, Lunarmech is headquartered in New Delhi. The firm posted a revenue of Rs 77.54 crore for the financial year ended March 2019, up from Rs 62.13 crore the year before.

Varun Beverages is one of the largest franchisees in the world of carbonated and non-carbonated beverages sold under brands owned by PepsiCo. The company produces and distributes beverages like Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Tropicana Slice and Aquafina packaged drinking water. It further has the franchise for the Ole brand of PepsiCo products in Sri Lanka.

Varun Beverages Limited (VBL), one of the largest franchisee of PepsiCo worldwide, has reported a growth in its revenue from operations of 36.5% year-on-year to Rs 2,810 crore in the second quarter of 2019 (April to June).

The company’s profit after tax rose by 32% to Rs 405 crore in Q2 2019 from Rs 307 crore in Q2 2018, while its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 37% to Rs 788 crore from Rs 575 crore.

VBL’s total sales volumes saw a jump of 43.3% year-on-year at 195.5 million cases in Q2 CY19 as compared to 136.4 million unit cases in Q2 CY18.

Ravi Jaipuria, Chairman of Varun Beverages, said, "We have made rapid progress with the consolidation of the recently acquired territories in south and west regions, and also those acquired last year. This demonstrates our strong execution capabilities, efficiency of our operations and operating leverage."

Varun Beverages produces and distributes a wide range of carbonated soft drinks and a large selection of non-carbonated beverages like packaged drinking water sold under trademarks owned by PepsiCo.

PepsiCo India will be investing Rs 514 crore over the next three years to build a greenfield snacks manufacturing plant in Uttar Pradesh (UP).

The move is in line with the food and beverage maker’s plan to double its snacking business that includes brands like Kurkure and Lays in India by 2022.

Ahmed ElSheikh, President and CEO, PepsiCo India, said, "PepsiCo is committed to growing its food and beverage business sustainably in India. We have a long relationship with the people of Uttar Pradesh. As we look to double our snacks business over the next few years, we intend to invest Rs.514 crores approx. 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 ensures the socio-economic progress of potato farmers in the state," he added.

The new UP plant will be creating 1,500 direct and indirect jobs.

PepsiCo sells Tropicana, 7Up, Mountain Dew and Kurkure. In order to address shifting consumer needs, the company has been looking to grow its business beyond sugary drinks. As a result, the brand is lining up new flavours and region-specific variants in its popular Lays and Kurkure brand of salty snacks.

Lavazza has launched its first premium ready-to-drink iced coffee product in the UK market. Called Lavazzo Iced Cappuccino, the product has been launched by the brand under a new partnership with PepsiCo. The beverage will be jointly marketed, sold and distributed by the partners.

Lavazza Iced Cappuccino is available nationwide in the UK from summer 2019. It aims to leverage Lavazza’s reputation as a coffee specialist for capitalising on the growing demand for premium iced coffee options.

Available in a 100% recyclable and premium can, the drink features a blend of Lavazza coffee and milk.

The UK launch is only the first step of a partnership between Lavazza and PepsiCo in Europe, targeted at accelerating innovation in this rapidly growing segment.

Following the launch, both companies will work together to broaden the new product lines in the future, as well as expand into new markets in 2020.

Sergio Cravero, Chief Marketing Officer, Lavazza Group, said, “We are proud to cooperate with PepsiCo as we enter the fast-growing iced coffee segment for the first time. Lavazza’s commitment to quality, combined with PepsiCo’s expertise, allows us to explore and offer in certain strategic markets more and more ways to enjoy coffee, in line with the international vocation of the Group to grow on a global scale.”

Mark Kirkham, Vice-President and Head of Marketing, PepsiCo West Europe Beverages, stated, “PepsiCo is very excited to be introducing Lavazza Iced Cappuccino to the UK market. This is the start of a collaborative partnership with Lavazza where we plan to innovate and bring to market new offerings based on consumer insights and preferences in the growing premium coffee space.”

“We look forward to building on this initial offering and setting the stage for European expansion in 2020,” Kirkham added.

PepsiCo India, the snacks and beverages major, will invest $70 million for setting up a food manufacturing plant in Uttar Pradesh. The company’s move is aimed at expanding capacity in the country's growing packaged foods market.

American global beverage firm is aiming to invest $2.1 billion in India by 2022. PepsiCo has grown to become one of the largest MNC food and beverage businesses in the country.

PepsiCo, which entered India in 1989, will invest with its local bottling partner Varun Beverages, as it looks to boost manufacturing capacity in the country. The greenfield plant will be creating new jobs and will also be enhancing cold storage infrastructure.

PepsiCo India's diverse portfolio consists of iconic brands such as Pepsi, Lay's, Kurkure, Tropicana 100%, Gatorade and Quaker.

PepsiCo, the US food and beverages giant, is test-marketing wafer-style chips as a meal accompaniment in south India. The company’s move is aimed towards tapping the largely unorganised market for the popular lentil-based appetiser ‘papadam’.

The new product has been launched under its Lay's brand in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.

PepsiCo has taken inspiration from hand-made and home-dried crunchy ‘papad’, which is widely consumed with rice and rasam, dal or sambhar.

Dilen Gandhi, Senior Director, Marketing for foods category, PepsiCo India, said, “Lay’s has always been at the forefront of innovating with new formats and variants and our regionalisation strategy is a demonstration of our efforts to build a closer connect with our consumers.”

“With this launch, we have gone one step further by identifying everyday meal occasions as per regions and coming with a product that compliments the existing tastes and palates,” he further stated.

Varun Beverages Limited (VBL), one of the largest franchisee of PepsiCo worldwide, has reported 24% increase in its revenue from operations to Rs 1,359 crore in the first quarter of 2019 (January to March). The company posted a revenue of Rs 1,095 crore in the year-on period.

VBL’s total sales volumes are up 12.3% at 9.03 crore unit cases in Q1 2019 in comparison with 8.04 crore unit cases in Q1 2018. Its EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) grew by 26.5% to Rs 218.4 crore from Rs 172.7 crore.

Ravi Jaipuria, Chairman of Varun Beverages Limited, said, "We have concluded the acquisition of franchise rights in south and west regions from PepsiCo for a national bottling, sales and distribution footprint in seven states and five union territories."

"This consolidates our dominant position as a key player in the beverage industry. VBL now accounts for more than 80 per cent PepsiCo India's beverage sales volumes in India from 51 per cent earlier, and has expanded its presence to 27 states and seven union territories across India," he added.

PepsiCo India's bottling partner Varun Beverages Ltd has received nod from the Competition Commission of India for its proposal to acquire franchise rights of the foods and snacks major in southern and western India.

CCI in its meeting held on March 22 considered and approved the proposed acquisition, VBL said in a regulatory filing.

In February, VBL had announced its plans to acquire franchise rights of PepsiCo in southern and western regions.

The company's board had approved entering into a binding agreement with PepsiCo India Holdings to acquire franchise rights in the two regions for a national bottling, sales and distribution footprint in seven states and five Union territories.

Upon completion of the acquisition, VBL will be a franchise of PepsiCo beverages business across 27 states and seven UTs, the filing added.

VBL already held manufacturing, sales and distribution rights for Tropicana Slice and Tropicana Frutz in the two regions.

Varun Beverages (VBL), PepsiCo India's bottling partner, has launched its Rs 550 crore facility in Pathankot, Punjab. This facility will roll out products from the cola major's beverage portfolio.

Spread over 41 acres, the integrated facility will be producing PepsiCo's Tropicana range of fruit juices, dairy-based products, carbonated soft drinks, Aquafina water, Gatorade and Lipton ice tea. The facility will also create more than 5,000 direct and indirect jobs in the state. 

Ahmed ElSheikh, President and Chief Executive Officer, PepsiCo India, said, "This new facility will act as a hub to address the growing demand for our well-loved beverage portfolio among consumers in the state and beyond." 

Ravi Jaipuria, Chairman of Varun Beverages, stated, "The facility is strategically located close to target markets which will reduce time to market and enable optimisation of freight and logistics costs, aiding margin expansion." 

RJ Corp-owned Varun Beverages, PepsiCo's long-standing franchise bottling partner, has acquired the bottling business of PepsiCo in South and West India for an undisclosed amount. This development makes VBL national bottling partner for PepsiCo.

Ahmed El Sheikh, President of PepsiCo India, said, "To unlock the full potential of PepsiCo’s operating model in India, the company has decided to franchise its company-owned bottling operations in South and West regions to Varun Beverages Limited (VBL), subject to receipt of necessary statutory approvals."

"With this agreement, VBL will acquire a national bottling, sales and distribution footprint. The move will profitably drive synergies of scale, operational productivity and efficiency across all facets of PepsiCo's beverage business," he further stated.

Ravi Jaipuria, Chairman of VBL, added, "Varun Beverages and PepsiCo India are further strengthening their close to a three-decade-long partnership. This development will help us acquire greater scale, operational productivity and efficiency leading to higher revenues and profitable growth."

Ramon Laguarta has been elected chairman of the board of PepsiCo, Inc., which will be effective from Feb 1. He will succeed Indra K. Nooyi, who announced last fall that she would step down from the company in early 2019.

Back in Oct 3, 2018, Mr. Laguarta succeeded Ms. Nooyi as CEO of PepsiCo. He is set to become the sixth chairman and CEO in PepsiCo’s 53-year history.

Before he was named CEO, Mr. Laguarta was the President of PepsiCo and during this time, he looked after the global operations of the company managing corporate strategy, public policy and government affairs. Totally, he has been with the company for over 22 years.

Mr. Laguarta shared his views on this election, “I am honored to take on this important post and want to thank the board for the confidence they have placed in me. I also want to thank Indra for her outstanding leadership and tireless work on behalf of PepsiCo. I look forward to building on the strong legacy she and our previous leaders have created and to working with our very talented global team to position PepsiCo for our next phase of growth.”

Ian Cook, presiding director of PepsiCo’s board of directors took this opportunity to thank Ms. Nooyi for her service.

“On behalf of the board and the entire PepsiCo family, I want to sincerely thank Indra for her leadership and commitment over the last 24 years, for paving the way for future leaders to ‘do well by doing good,’ and for making PepsiCo one of the world’s most ethical and admired companies,” he said.

Ms. Nooyi was chairman since 2007 and was CEO from 2006-18.

वरुण बेवरेज लिमिटेड अपने कार्बोनेटेड पेय व्यवसाय के लिए दक्षिण और पश्चिम में पेप्सिको के बोतल संबंधी, बिक्री और वितरण के लिए बात कर रही है। ये कदम कंपनी को राष्ट्रव्यापी नियंत्रण देगा।

आरजे कॉर्प के स्वामित्व वाली फर्म भारत की बिक्री में इसका 51 प्रतिशत से अधिक का योगदान देने के साथ पहले ही उत्तरीय और पूर्वी क्षेत्रों में पेप्सिको के बोतलों का संचालन संभाल रही है।

कंपनी के स्वामित्व से फ्रैंचाइज़ के स्वामित्व तक के संचालन से कर्मचारियों के ट्रांज़िशन का प्रबंध करने के लिए दिसंबर 2018 में पेप्सिको ने मुख्य मानव संसाधन अधिकारी सुचित्रा राजेंद्र के अधीन एक टीम का गठन किया था।

विकास के बारे में एक कार्यकारी ने कहा, 'बॉटलिंग परिचालनों का राष्ट्रीय स्तर कंपनी की वैश्विक दिशा के अनुसार है, जो दुनिया भर के बाजारों में संपत्ति-प्रकाश व्यवसाय चलाने और फ्रैंचाइज़ी भीगादारों के माध्यम से अपने बॉटलिंग संचालन के अधिकांश संचालन के लिए है। हालांकि संभावित लेनदेन, छोटी अवधि (पूर्ण) में नहीं होगा क्योंकि इसमें संपत्तियों और कर्मचारियों के बहुत से ट्रांसफर शामिल होंगे।'

Varun Beverages Ltd (VBL) is in advanced talks to buy bottling, sales and distribution of PepsiCo in the south and west for its carbonated drinks business. This move will give it nationwide control of these functions.

RJ Corp-owned firm is already running PepsiCo's bottling operations in the north and east, contributing over 51% to its India's sales volume. 

In December 2018, Pepsi-Co had formed a team under Suchitra Rajendra, Chief Human Resources Officer, for managing the likely transition of employees from company-owned to franchisee-owned operations. 

An executive aware of the development said, "The divestment of the bottling operations nationally is in line with the company’s global direction to run asset-light businesses across world markets and operate the majority of its bottling operations through franchisee partners. The likely transaction, however, will not be (completed) in the short term since it will involve multiple and complicated transfers of assets and employees."

Harsh Rai has resigned as VP and general manager sales of PepsiCo. With this, Rai is ending an over-decade-long association with the beverages and foods maker. 

Rai is being succeeded by Ajit Dheer, who has been a Managing Director of NourishCo, the Tata-PepsiCo joint venture company. 

A PepsiCo India spokesperson said, "Ajit Dheer, currently chief executive and managing director at NourishCo Beverages is taking over the role as VP and general manager sales, commercial unit, from Harsh Rai, in the first quarter of 2019."

Rai was the member of PepsiCo India's executive committee since 2014. He worked across functions like general management, sales and distribution, and business model transformation.

PepsiCo has completed the acquisition of Israeli firm SodaStream. In August, PepsiCo said that it was buying the Israeli company that makes machines to carbonate home tap water for $3.2 billion.

Ramon Laguarta, CEO of PepsiCo, said, "With its customisable options, SodaStream empowers consumers to personalise their preferred beverage in an environmentally friendly way and provides PepsiCo with a significant presence in the at-home marketplace."

"Together with SodaStream, I'm confident we can accelerate progress on our shared goal of curbing plastic waste and building a more sustainable future," he added.

Daniel Birnbaum, CEO, SodaStream, stated, "SodaStream was founded to bring healthy, convenient and environmentally friendly beverage options to consumers around the world and PepsiCo will help us deliver and expand on this mission."

PepsiCo India has started a six-month pilot programme for selling its snack products in compostable packaging. The programme has been rolled out amid mounting concerns over the impact of plastic on the environment.

The new eco-friendly packaging will be available for popular variants of Lay's and Kurkure snacks at the Indira Gandhi International Airport Terminal 3 in Delhi. It is developed by the company's research and development (R&D) unit. The new packaging is made from plant-based material and 100% compostable.

The newly introduced packets can be disposed of with regular food waste. They will take 12 weeks to decompose under industrial composting conditions.

Jagrut Kotecha, Vice President (Snacks Category), PepsiCo India, said, "Through this pilot, we aim to influence and study consumer behaviour, as well as monitor the waste management channel in a controlled environment. This is a significant milestone for the FMCG industry, and the learnings from this pilot will help in shaping the next phase of the project, and also provide inputs to other markets in the PepsiCo system."

Ending its 20-year deal with Coca-Cola, Jubilant FoodWorks, which runs Domino's Pizza and Dunkin Donuts restaurant chains, has signed PepsiCo as its new beverage partner for Domino's Pizza India. 

Jubilant FoodWorks will now sell the entire portfolio of carbonated beverages of PepsiCo, which includes Pepsi, Mountain Dew, 7Up, and Mirinda along with Lipton Ice Tea, across all Domino's restaurants in India.

Pratik Pota, Chief Executive Officer & Whole-time Director, Jubilant FoodWorks, said, "We are delighted to announce PepsiCo as the beverage partner for Domino's Pizza India. The partnership will bring in fresh focus on our beverage portfolio. We look forward to offering greater beverage variety and thereby enhancing the Domino's Pizza experience for our guests."

Ahmed ElSheikh, President & CEO, PepsiCo India, also stated, "PepsiCo is honored to be the preferred beverage partner for Jubilant FoodWorks across its Domino's Pizza outlets nationwide. Domino's consumers will now be able to choose from a range of their favorite PepsiCo beverage brands across carbonated soft drinks and Lipton Ice Tea with their meals. This partnership further strengthens our position in the food service segment in India and consumers can look forward to some exciting new experiences."

PepsiCo is planning to invest $5 million by 2020 to expand its agricultural programmes in India. Currently, the food and beverages company is working with 24,000 farmers in the country for growing potato, rice, corn and citrus for its products like Lays, Uncle Chipps, Kurkure snacks and Tropicana juice.

Christine Daugherty, global vice president of sustainable agriculture at PepsiCo, said, "The company has plans to double the collaborative farming network in the next five years, including expansion to new geographies." 

“PepsiCo is also keen to bring digital technology to the farms. We are connecting farmers to mobile apps which gives information from pest management to weather information,” she added.

PepsiCo, through the sustainable farming programme, is providing education on field agronomy, fertilisers, irrigation, plant protection techniques and new technologies.

Daugherty further said, "We want to make a global impact which is locally relevant through our sustainable farming programme. We know we can’t just come in with complete Western agricultural practices as they may not work in India. So, our programme goes in and does risk analysis and assessment of environmental, social and economic factors. Post that risk assessment, we decide on how to engage with the farmers so they can grow better quality products with fewer input costs which are resilient to environmental and economic shocks."

Drinks giant PepsiCo and Loop Industries, US-based sustainable plastic firm, have entered into a multi-year supply agreement. With this partnership, PepsiCo will rollout product packaging made with 100% recycled plastic by the end of the decade.

Loop will provide PepsiCo with production capacity at its factory in the US, which produces PET plastic using 100% recycled materials.

Mehmood Khan, Vice Chairman and Chief Scientific Officer, PepsiCo, said, "Loop's technology enables PepsiCo to be a leading force in ensuring plastic packaging need never become waste. This partnership represents a step-change that will empower PepsiCo in our drive towards creating a circular economy for plastics."

Daniel Solomita, Founder and Chief Executive of Loop Industries, stated, "We are very proud to supply PepsiCo with Loop branded PET plastic. Working with a global food and beverage giant like PepsiCo will further establish the value proposition of the Loop brand and mission – to accelerate the world's shift toward sustainable plastic and away from the traditional, take, make and dispose economy."

The agreement will further include marketing and communications plan to raise consumer awareness of the importance of recycling, sustainability and the circular economy.

दिल्ली स्टेट कंज्यूमर डिस्प्यूट्स रीड्रेसल कमीशन (एससीडीआरसी) ने पेप्सिको इंडिया को दिल्ली निवासी करिश्मा को पचास लाख रूपए देने के निर्देश दिए हैं। करिश्मा ‘पेप्सी यंगिस्तान का वाव’ की विजेता रही हैं, जो कंपनी द्वारा इंडियन प्रीमियर लीग-2010 में आयोजित किया गया था।

गौरतलब है कि कमीशन का अनुभव है कि कंपनीज ज्यादातर उपभोक्ताओं को आकर्षित करने के लिए ऐसे बड़े-बड़े पुरस्कार घोषित करती है, पर विजेताओं के हाथ कुछ भी नहीं लगता। इसलिए ये निर्देश दिया गया।

दिल्ली कंज्यूमर कमीशन ने पेप्सिको को पुरस्कार राशि के साथ हर्जाना राशि दस हजार और अभियोग राशि दस हजार तीस दिन के अंदर देने के निर्देश दिए हैं।

कमीशन के सदस्य एन. पी. कौशिक का कहना है, ‘’कंपनीज अक्सर उपभोक्ताओं को लुभाने के लिए बड़े-बड़े पुरस्कारों की घोषणा कर देती है और लोगों से इन प्रतिस्पर्धाओं में भागीदारी का आग्रह करती है। यह सब बिजनेस को बढ़ावा देने के उद्देश्य से किया जाता है।‘’

कमीशन ने यह भी बताया कि हालांकि बड़ी संख्या में प्रतिभागियों को सांत्वना पुरस्कार संगीत और गाने डाउनलोड करने के रूप में दिया गया पर विजेता के हाथ कुछ भी नहीं लगा।  

The Delhi State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (SCDRC) has directed PepsiCo India to pay Rs 50 lakh to Delhi resident Karishma. She was the winner of a competition "Pepsi Youngistan Ka Wow" organised by the company in 2010 Indian Premier League. 

The order comes after the commission noted that there is a growing tendency among companies to attract customers by announcing big prizes but the winner is hardly given anything. 

The Delhi consumer commission asked PepsiCo India to pay the amount along with compensation of Rs 10,000 and litigation charges Rs 10,000 within 30 days.

NP Kaushik, a member of the commission, said, "There is a growing tendency amongst the corporates to attract the customers by announcing big prizes and asking the public to participate in the competitions. It is done with a motive to promote business."

The commission has also stated that though consolation prizes were given to a large number of participants in the form of downloading music and songs, the winning prize was hardly given. 

Nestlé has announced that it is cutting ties with IndoFood, one of Indonesia's largest palm oil companies, citing commercial reasons. With this, Nestlé would stop sourcing palm oil, either directly or indirectly, from IndoFood.

Recently, PepsiCo has also announced that it would be severing ties with IndoFoods.

Earlier, PepsiCo suspended sourcing palm oil from IndoAgri, one of IndoFood’s subsidiaries, after complaints of labour abuses surfaced from plantations. The complaints were further investigated by Rainforest Action Network, the International Labour Rights Forum and Indonesian labour rights group Oppuk.

Fatah Sadaoui, campaigns manager, SumOfUs, an international consumer watchdog, stated, "Nestlé made the right decision in ending its joint venture partnership with Indofood. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil now has to send a strong message to Indofood and other palm oil suppliers clearing rainforests, abusing workers and destroying orangutan habitat by suspending Indofood."

"Nestlé's decision is also a reminder for PepsiCo that it is time put its money where its mouth is and either bring Indofood in line with its No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation commitment or put an end to their joint venture partnership," Fatah added.

Beverage and snacks maker PepsiCo India has made a profit in 2017-18 after a gap of seven years. The profit was driven by cost-efficiency measures, high-margin products and higher capacity utilization.

PepsiCo has reported a net profit of Rs 190 crore in 2017-18. The company posted a loss of Rs 148 crore a year previously. The last profit PepsiCo reported was in 2010-11. The beverage company exited the fourth quarter of 2017-18 with double-digit growth momentum.

Rajdeep Datta Gupta, Chief Financial Officer of PepsiCo India, said, "Focus on profitable channels, packs and innovation, cost management and productivity to offset inflation, local agriculture programmes and procurement for citrus and corn, and maximising capacity utilisation were factors that brought balanced growth."

PepsiCo launched 80 products and variants, including flavours, pack sizes and packaging between 2015 and 2018. Out of its products, Lay's, Kurkure, Quaker and Doritos were the key growth drivers. The new high-margin products like Pepsi Black and energy drink Sting also showed 'encouraging results'.

New York-based Purchase's India unit said in 2016 that it was taking a three-year reset to transform its portfolio for sustainable and profitable growth. It has rationalised its portfolio for operational productivity as well as reinvested in marketing expenses.

"Higher capacity utilisation is helping leverage cost lines. Strong cost-management is offsetting the inflation that we are seeing," Gupta said.

स्थानीय बाजार में अपनी उपस्थिति को मजबूत करने के लिए पेप्सिको इंडिया के नमकीन स्नैक्स डिवीजन ने अपने लोकप्रिय ब्रांड कुरकुरे के तहत तीन नए स्वाद लॉन्च किए हैं। कुरकुरे ट्विस्टकेन, एक बेक्ड नमकीन, तीन स्वादों में आता है। यह लोकप्रिय क्षेत्रीय स्नैक्स बीकानेरी भुजिया, आंध्र के मुरुक्कु और शाही स्वादयुक्त नमकीन के समान स्वाद के साथ विकसित किया गया है। पेप्सिको ने कहा कि भारतीय पारंपरिक नमकीनों के स्वाद को बनाए रखने के लिए एक आधुनिक प्रारूप विकसित करने के लिए, उसने अपनी वैश्विक और स्थानीय आर एंड डी टीमों के साथ काम किया है।

स्नैक्स श्रेणी के उपाध्यक्ष जग्रत कोटेचा, पेप्सिको इंडिया ने कहा, "हमें विश्वास है कि नया लॉन्च अगले पांच सालों में हमारे नमकीन स्नैक्स व्यवसाय को दोगुना करने के अपने लक्ष्य को हासिल करने में सक्षम बनाने में महत्वपूर्ण भूमिका निभाएगा। हम इसे बनाने की सोच रहे हैं। पारंपरिक स्नैक्स को फिर से कल्पना करने और उन्हें कम नमक सामग्री के साथ आधुनिक और सुविधाजनक प्रारूप में पेश करने की रणनीति का पालन करके कुरकुरे ट्विस्टकेन के माध्यम से नमकीन स्नैक्स सेगमेंट में एक नई श्रेणी लाई जाएगी।"दो प्रकारों में उपलब्ध होने के कारण, स्नैक्स 18 राज्यों में बेचे जाएंगे। नए उत्पादों का निर्माण पुणे और महाराष्ट्र में पेप्सिको के स्नैक विनिर्माण सुविधा में किया जाता है।

In a bid to strengthen its presence in the local market, PepsiCo India's salty snacks division has launched three new flavours under its popular brand Kurkure. 

Kurkure Twistkeen, a baked namkeen, comes in three flavors. It is developed in line with tastes and flavours similar to popular regional snacks Bikaneri bhujia, Andhra’s murukku and Shahi flavoured namkeens.

PepsiCo said that for developing a modern format retaining the flavour of Indian traditional namkeens, it has worked with its global and local R&D teams.

Jagrut Kotecha, Vice-President for Snacks Category, PepsiCo India, said, "We believe the new launch will play a critical role in enabling us to achieve our goal of doubling our salty snacks business over the next five years. We are looking to create a new category in the salty snacks segment through Kurkure Twistkeen by following a strategy of re-imagining traditional snacks and offering them in a modern and convenient format with low salt content."

Being available in two variants, the snacks will be sold across 18 states. The new products are manufactured at PepsiCo's snacks manufacturing facility in Pune and Maharashtra. 

PepsiCo India’s Beverages head Vipul Prakash has resigned from the company. Prakash was heading marketing for beverages and had served almost a two-decade-long stint with the beverage and snack maker.

Vishal Kaul, who has been associated with PepsiCo since 1999, will succeed Prakash.

Prakash, who joined PepsiCo in 1998, has been through diverse roles across marketing and franchise functions, at sector and global levels.

Ahmed ELSheikh, Chairman of PepsiCo India, said, “PepsiCo India has built a strong talent pipeline by giving people a mix of different critical experiences in India and internationally.”

पेय और अल्प खाद्य पदार्थ दिग्गज पेप्सिको ने घोषणा की है कि वह सोडास्ट्रीमको 320करोड़ डॉलरमें खरीदेगी। सोडास्ट्रीम के बकाया स्टॉक के लिए 144डॉलरप्रति शेयर, जो 30 दिनों की मात्रा के भारित औसत मूल्य का 32% प्रीमियम है,का भुगतान करने कीपेप्सिको ने स्वीकृति दी है।

यह सौदा, सोडास्ट्रीम के लिए, पेप्सिको की मजबूत वितरण क्षमताओं,वैश्विक पहुंच, अनुसंधान एवं विकास, डिजाइन और विपणन विशेषज्ञता के जरिये आगे के विस्तार और महत्वपूर्ण सफल नवाचार के लियेएक अच्छा अवसर है।

सोडास्ट्रीम विश्व मेंबबलयुक्त कार्बोनाटेड पानी(पेय) का सबसे बड़ा ब्रांड है, जो बटन के एक क्लिक पर फ्लैवर्ड(अलग-अलग स्वादयुक्त) पानी के पेय (ड्रिंक्स)मुहैया कराती है। कंपनी की स्थापना 1903 में ब्रिटेन में हुई थी।

पेप्सिको की चेयरमैन और सीईओ इंद्रा नूई ने कहा कि, "पेप्सिको और सोडास्ट्रीम एक दूसरे से प्रेरित जोड़ीदार हैं। डैनियल और उनके नेतृत्व वाली टीम ने एक असाधारण कंपनी बनाई है जो उपभोक्ताओं को कचरे की मात्रा को कम करते हुए शानदार स्वाद वाले पेय पदार्थ बनाने का अधिकार प्रदान कर रही है। एक-दूसरे के साथ हम एक स्वस्थ, चिरस्थायी जीव स्थल की हमारी साझा दूरदृष्टि को आगे बढ़ा सकते हैं।"

सोडास्ट्रीम के उत्पाद पेप्सी के बढ़ते पोर्टफोलियो को संपूर्णता प्रदान करते लागत-प्रभावी,मांग के अनुरूप एवं पारंपरिक बबलयुक्त (फिजी)पेय के मजेदार विकल्प होंगे।

Beverage and snack giant PepsiCo has announced that it will buy SodaStream for $3.2 billion. PepsiCo agreed to pay $144 per share in cash for SodaStream's outstanding stock, a 32% premium to its 30-day volume weighted average price.

For SodaStream, the deal is a chance for further expansion and breakthrough innovation through PepsiCo's strong distribution capabilities, global reach, R&D, design and marketing expertise. SodaStream is the largest sparkling water brand in volume in the world, providing flavoured water drinks at the click of a button. The company was founded in Britain in 1903.

Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo’s Chairman and CEO, said, “PepsiCo and SodaStream are an inspired match. Daniel and his leadership team have built an extraordinary company that is offering consumers the ability to make great-tasting beverages while reducing the amount of waste generated. Together, we can advance our shared vision of a healthier, more sustainable planet”.

The products of SodaStream will be a cost-effective, customised and fun alternative to traditional fizzy drinks, fully complementing Pepsi’s growing portfolio.

Aimed at cost savings, the Jubilant Food-Works (JFL) operated Domino’s Pizza may end its 20-year long exclusive deal with Coca-Cola in India to rope in PepsiCo. JFL is looking at boosting profitability as India is a critical market for Domino’s.

The Michigan-based single largest quick service restaurant chain, with a global footprint in 85 countries and 1,144 stores in India, had exclusive partnership deals with Coca-Cola worldwide. However, there were few exceptions such as Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia where it serves PepsiCo brands.

A JFL’s spokesperson said, “We have enjoyed a strong partnership with Coca-Cola India over the last 20 years. As we look to build our business for the next phase of growth, we have initiated a process to look at various options and identify the right beverage partner who can help strengthen our beverage portfolio and drive growth”.

Rivals such as Yum! Brands that operates Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell has had a long-standing partnership with PepsiCo, while McDonald's has always been associated with Coca-Cola.

Former PepsiCo marketing director, snacks, Vani Gupta has joined consultancy and business accelerator firm Hypersonic Advisors as a founder member, where she will lead the consumer innovation practice, a company statement said.

Gupta, previously with Unilever and Reckitt Benckiser before exiting PepsiCo a couple of months back, will drive marketing and category management for businesses across consumer goods, telecom and eCommerce. Hypersonic Advisors works with mature and early stage companies and links pay-outs to measurable results, the statement said.

Promoters of Hypersonic Advisors include former chief operating officer at Airtel’s Delhi-NCR circle Venkatesh Rangachari, and former officials of Hewlett-Packard, Star TV and Accenture - Nitin Hiranandani, Anand Khurana and Vipul Gupta respectively, the statement added.

PepsiCo India on Wednesday said it will reduce salt content in 75 per cent of its snacks portfolio by 2025 as part of strategy towards offering healthier food.

The company also said that as part of sustainable packaging solutions it will pilot 100 per cent compostable, plant-based packaging for its popular snacks products -- Lay's and Kurkure in India from this year.

"We have reduced 5 per cent to 25 per cent sodium across popular variants of our snacks flagship brands, Lay's and Kurkure and we further aim at reducing sodium in 75 per cent of our food's portfolio by 2025," PepsiCo India Vice President - Snacks Category Jagrut Kotecha said in a statement.

PepsiCo India said it has already introduced upgraded variants of its Lay's snacks with reduced sodium in different flavours containing 13 per cent to 215 per cent lesser sodium.

The company's snacks portfolio also include Lehar, Cheetos and Uncle Chipps.

Kotecha further said in line with the PepsiCo's 'performance with purpose goals 2025', the company is working to reduce the impact of its packaging on environment and increase recycling of plastic waste.

"The first step towards the actualisation of this journey is the resizing of packaging of our brands Lay's and Kurkure. This will significantly help us in reducing our carbon footprint," he added.

The company also said it is working with partners to support and leverage new technologies for sustainable packaging solutions.

"We will be piloting the first ever 100 per cent compostable, plant-based packaging for our popular snacks products - Lay's and Kurkure this year," the company said.

India will be among the first countries to pilot this packaging.

"We plan to launch the pilot for this new compostable packaging with Lay's and Kurkure starting in Q4 of this year," it added.