Pepsi to up contract farming acreage for potato

With a view to catering to the growing demand for its FritoLay potato chips in the country, PepsiCo India plans to expand the acreage of its contract farming for potato from the 5,000 acres now to 7,200 acres.

Manu Anand, managing director of PepsiCo's FritoLay Division, said the company was increasing the contract farming acreage to meet the demand for potato chips. "FritoLay is the fastest growing brand in our stable of six brands and will remain so for sometime," Anand said.

In India, the company sells six brands including FritoLay, Kurkure, Uncle Chipps, Cheetos, Lehar Namkeen and Quaker Oats, which it introduced a little over two months ago.

Anand said the Pune plant, which predominantly makes FritoLay chips, has seven production lines with a total capacity of 40,000 tonnes. Once the Pune capacity was fully utilised, the additional production of chips would be in the company's West Bengal plant, he added.

PepsiCo has been engaged in contract farming of potatoes in six Indian states including Punjab, Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.

Anand said the company had started packing Quaker Oats at its Pune (Ranjangaon) plant. The company has been importing oats from Australia and repacking in Pune for supplies all over the market.

"We will expand the Quaker Oats range to project the product's suitability for different occasions and a variety of applications," Anand said.