Food and Beverage Business
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PepsiCo and Varun Beverages team up to launch new snacks venture

PepsiCo and Varun Beverages team up to launch new snacks venture PepsiCo Food and Beverage Business

Varun Beverages, a part of India’s RJ Corp. food and drinks group, has recently forged an agreement with PepsiCo to manufacture and distribute snacks in Zimbabwe and Zambia. The company plans to invest approximately $7 million in two facilities to produce PepsiCo’s Simba Munchiez brand of snacks. The Zimbabwe facility is expected to become operational on or before October 1 next year, while the Zambia plant is set to start operations by April 1, 2026.

Each site will have the capacity to produce about 5,000 metric tonnes of snacks annually for the respective markets in Zimbabwe and Zambia. The production of Simba Munchiez snacks will be managed through the company’s subsidiaries – Varun Foods in Zimbabwe and Varun Beverages in Zambia. Industry data reveals that the snacks market in Zimbabwe is estimated at around $177 million per year and $156 million in Zambia.

In addition to the recent partnership with PepsiCo, Varun Beverages has also entered an agreement to manufacture PepsiCo’s Cheetos snack brand in Morocco, with production scheduled to commence by May 1 next year. The company estimates the snacks market in Morocco to be worth approximately $500 million annually.

Apart from operating in Morocco, Zimbabwe, and Zambia, Varun Beverages is a franchisee for PepsiCo’s soft drinks in Nepal and Sri Lanka, while also supplying to 27 Indian states. In 2022, the company initiated production of the PepsiCo Kurkure snacks brand at a plant in Kosi, Uttar Pradesh. Furthermore, Varun Beverages commenced distribution of the Lays and Doritos lines in Morocco during the same year.

RJ Corp., the parent company of Varun Beverages, holds franchises in India for various foodservice outlets, including KFC, Costa Coffee, and Pizza Hut. Under the leadership of chairman Ravi Jaipuria, the business yields an annual revenue of approximately $2 billion.

 

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