Pepsis Prize
The 44-year-old Jaipuria won the most coveted prize in the Pepsi family the Donald M Kendall Bottler of the Year award from none other than the cola giants founder Donald M Kendall himself. And that too in the year of the multinationals centennial celebrations, and in the presence of the former US President George Bush!
The first Indian to have won the prestigious trophy, Jaipuria beat stiff international competition in the highly competitive cola world, recording a gain in market leadership in his three territories. The groups three plants at Noida, Agra, and Jaipur have consistently ranked among the top five plants in quality scores, said a Pepsi official.
Ever a team man, a visibly elated Jaipuria gave kudos where they were due to his colleagues. This award is a great honour for me and my organisation, and was possible due to the dedicated efforts and hard work of my employees and distributors and the Pepsi India Team, he said.
The youngest son of the Jaipuria family, which controls 40 per cent of the total Pepsi beverage business in India, has spearheaded Pepsis cola challenge against rival Coca Cola in the country for the last seven years.
The award is a shot in the arm for Pepsis Indian bottling fraternity which has pitched its might behind the foods-to-beverages giant. Pepsi has opted for the franchisee-route to success in contrast to Coca Cola, which has preferred to take over the Indian bottling operations itself instead of handing over the reins to individual franchisee bottlers.
The award might have been a morale booster, but whether it translates into a winning performance in the market remains to be seen.