PepsiCo is to set up a “flavour” manufacturing facility in India, a move the company said will boost its beverage business in the country.
The 7Up and Mountain Dew maker is spending Rs 1266 crore ($151.8m) on the new plant, which will be located in Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, a state in central India.
Just Drinks has contacted PepsiCo officials in India and at its US headquarters for further details on what ingredients will be made at the facility and in which drinks they will be used. The company had not responded to the multiple requests at the time of writing.
In a statement, the group said the new factory will be spread over 22 acres and “will play a significant role in scaling up PepsiCo's beverage production in India”.
George Kovoor, senior vice president of beverages at PepsiCo's business in India, added: “We aim to ramp up the production of our beverages to meet the rising demand in the country.”
PepsiCo already has a flavour manufacturing facility in India, located further north in Channo in Punjab.
The Ujjain is expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2026.
PepsiCo does not disclose detailed sales numbers for individual markets. However, the company does give an indication of growth rates. In 2023, the company saw its beverage sales volumes rise at a "double-digit" rate in India, while its volumes of "convenient foods" dropped at a "low-single-digit" rate.
The company contracts bottler Varun Beverages to manufacture and distribute its drinks across 27 states and seven union territories in India. According to Varun Beverages, the deals represent around 90% of PepsiCo's beverage sales volume in the country.
Last month, local Coca-Cola bottler Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages told Just Drinks it was assessing plans to potentially construct a new manufacturing site in India.
A spokesperson for HCCB said the company was “evaluating the prospects of setting up a new green field manufacturing facility” in the southern state of Telangana.
In January, HCCB sold three bottling operations to domestic bottlers to “accelerate the Coca‑Cola system” in India.
