PepsiCo to make Bengal hub for new products

KOLKATA: PepsiCo India will make its food plant at Sankrail near Kolkata a hub for making newer products as it expands its portfolio of health and nutritious food.

"We plan to make this plant as a global benchmark," PepsiCo India Holdings CEO (Foods) Varun Berry said. "We have already invested more than 450 crore in the state, including the plant, cold storage and distribution infrastructure," he added.

The US food and beverages maker has just completed fresh investments of 170 crore in the Sankrail unit to more than double its installed capacity to 51,000 tonnes per annum.

PepsiCo is planning further investments on newer lines as it will soon receive an additional 1.7 acre from the West Bengal government. The firm plans to source almost 30% of its products from this plant, which currently manufactures snacks brands Lay's, Kurkure, Cheetos and Kurkure Desi Beats.

PepsiCo will also expand its farming footprint in West Bengal. The state, where 8,500 farmers grow potatoes for PepsiCo, is the largest potato sourcing hub for the company, followed by Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

PepsiCo India Executive Director (Agriculture) Vivek Bharati said the company would soon expand its farming operation in the state to more than 10,000 farmers. "We are developing special potato seeds in the US which will be brought to West Bengal. This special variety will increase the life of the potato," he said.