PepsiCo India eyeing number one position outside US

PepsiCo India may have already become one of the top five global operations outside the US for the food and beverages major, but it is gunning for the top spot.

"India is one of the top five markets for PepsiCo among all the international markets [outside the US] in terms of the scale of the business and PepsiCo is very bullish on India," PepsiCo India Holdings Pvt Ltd Chairman India region Manu Anand told PTI.

He said the company's both food and beverages businesses driven by innovative products are seeing a robust growth here.

"We would love to be number one market for PepsiCo outside of the US," Anand said.

When asked about the expected timeline he said : "But, we do not know by when that will happen".

The top five global markets for PepsiCo outside the US include China, Europe and West Asia, along with India.

Anand, however, did not specify India's exact position in the list of top five markets.

In line with PepsiCo's global strategy of focusing on high priority emerging markets, the India business in 2008 was elevated to "region" status.

India region directly reports to the Asia, West Asia East and Africa (AMEA) Division, one of the two divisions comprising PepsiCo International.

PepsiCo India's principal businesses include: Frito-Lay snacks, Pepsi-Cola beverages, Gatorade sports drinks, Tropicana juices and Quaker foods.

Since its entry into India in 1989, PepsiCo has invested over Rs 4,600 crore ($1 billion) in the country. In 2008, PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi had announced that PepsiCo would invest $500 million in its India operations over a period of three years and triple revenues in a five-year period.

The investments were mainly meant for enhancing manufacturing capacity, market infrastructure, environment sustainability initiatives, R&D, new product development, and agriculture.