PepsiCo commissions Rs 814-cr greenfield plant in UP

The launch ceremony was also addressed by Satish Mahana, infrastructure and industrial development minister, Uttar Pradesh Govt; Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary, dairy development, animal husbandry, fisheries minister, Uttar Pradesh Govt; Navneet Singh Chahal, district magistrate, Mathura; Eugene Willemsen, CEO, Africa, Middle East, South Asia, PepsiCo, and Ahmed ElSheikh, president, PepsiCo India.

Set up with an investment of Rs 814-crore, the Kosi Kalan food plant in Mathura marks PepsiCo’s largest greenfield investment in manufacturing in India. It is also the company’s first ‘Make and Move’ factory, which will cater to the growing demand for its iconic Lay’s potato chips brand. The state-of-the-art foods plant aligns with the government of Uttar Pradesh’s industrialisation-led growth agenda.

The greenfield plant strengthens PepsiCo’s ‘Winning with Purpose’ philosophy of driving sustainable accelerated growth and will create over 1,500 direct and indirect job opportunities in the state. It will also champion diversity with a target of at least 30% women employees. Another key aspect of the Kosi Kalan plant is its strong linkage with agriculture. PepsiCo India intends to source 1,50,000 tonnes of potatoes annually from the state and has plans to develop a strong connect with over 5,000 local farmers.

Eugene Willemsen, CEO, Africa, Middle East, and South Asia, PepsiCo, said, “India continues to be a strategic market and an engine of growth for PepsiCo in Africa, Middle East, and South Asia (AMESA) region. No partnership with India can truly be complete without collaborating with Uttar Pradesh, home to one-sixth of its citizens. We are proud to significantly scale up this partnership of progress by launching our greenfield food plant in Mathura. The plant will implement the best of what PepsiCo has to offer globally in terms of technology, sustainability and diversity, and will contribute to the state’s overall development through employment opportunities and strong Agri-linkages.”

Ahmed ElSheikh, President, PepsiCo India, said, “The launch of our new food plant in Kosi Kalan, Mathura is in line with the spirit of Atmanirbhar Bharat. Commissioning of the food plant marks PepsiCo’s single largest investment of Rs 814-crore in the country. The support of the UP government and the local administration has been instrumental in the commissioning of our state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in less than two years. We are proud to strengthen our ’Unnati Ki Sajhedhari’ with the state of Uttar Pradesh.”

PepsiCo India has developed Kosi Kalan, Mathura food plant, featuring next-generation technologies. The company will also commission a state-of-the-art cold storage warehouse for an improved supply chain in the State. The cold storage technology will increase the shelf life of potatoes substantially. Further, staying true to PepsiCo’s ‘Winning with Purpose’ philosophy, the foods plant will deploy the best of sustainability practices leveraging investment into advanced technologies. It also has plans to progressively transition to significant renewable energy usage in the near future.