PepsiCo India on 3 June 2022 announced expansion plans for its largest greenfield foods manufacturing plant that produces the immensely popular Lay’s potato chips in Kosi Kalan, Mathura in Uttar Pradesh. The company is all set to further invest Rs 186 crore for the expansion of its foods manufacturing facility in Mathura, taking the overall investment to Rs 1022 crore in Uttar Pradesh. As part of its expansion plan, PepsiCo India will increase the capacity of the state-of-the-art foods plant, by setting up a new manufacturing line which will produce one of the world’s leading nacho chip brands Doritos.
At the 3rd ground-breaking ceremony of the investor summit in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, PepsiCo India committed its investment in the state in the presence of the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi and Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath and other key dignitaries.
Speaking about the announcement, Ahmed ElSheikh, president, PepsiCo India, said, “The progressive ecosystem and industrial climate in Uttar Pradesh have yielded some fantastic opportunities for PepsiCo India. Thanks to the industry-friendly policies and ease of doing business in the state, we achieved a major milestone of setting up our greenfield foods plant in Kosi in less than two years. The state-of-the-art facility is fuelling the economic ecosystem and creating job opportunities in UP. Given the tremendous response, we are happy to further raise our investment by Rs 186 crore in the state. This latest investment is yet another testament of our ‘Unnati Ki Sajhedhari’ with the state of Uttar Pradesh and is also in line with the Indian Government’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharath.”
Commissioned in September 2021, PepsiCo India’s foods manufacturing plant in Kosi Kalan, Mathura intends to annually source around 1,50,000 tonnes of potatoes for its iconic potato chips brand, Lay’s. Additionally, a strong backward integration program involving over 5,000 local potato farmers is also being developed. Further, the Kosi plant has provided a source of livelihood to thousands of supply chain partners, wholesalers, and retailers. The plant envisions creating over 1,500 direct and indirect job opportunities and is championing diversity with a target of at least 30% women employees. Staying committed to PepsiCo’s ‘Winning with pep+’ philosophy, the foods plant is also deploying the best sustainability practices and advanced manufacturing technologies.
‘Unnati Ki Sajhedhari’ community initiatives
PepsiCo India’s ‘Unnati ki Sajhedaari’ initiative in Uttar Pradesh, is all about making a difference on the ground via community support programs. As part of the effort, a special initiative called Purna was launched in Mathura-Vrindavan. The initiative aims to transform a waste workforce of 100 operating in the city into waste management professionals by developing a circular, equitable and inclusive model of effective waste management. The plan also involves working with all stakeholders to transform Mathura-Vrindavan into one of the cleanest cities in the country. PepsiCo India has also launched a program called ‘Tidy Trails’. It is a unique plastic waste management initiative again rolled out in Mathura-Vrindavan. The initiative involves the regular deployment of a special mobile van, which visits over 800 establishments to create awareness and collect post-consumer plastic waste. The initiative also aims to encourage and empower local citizens to keep their environment clean and set an example for others in the community. Additionally, as part of community relief efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic, the company organized vaccination drives, set up special covid care centers and provided oxygen concentrators to numerous government hospitals.
