PepsiCo Bets on Innovation in Indian Snack & Food Market

New Delhi, Mar 16 (PTI) PepsiCo will increase its play in the packed food segment, catering to "multiple Indias" with different taste buds as it bets on innovations and premiumisation to continue its double-digit growth in the country, its India & South Asia CEO Jagrut Kotecha said.

Pepsico will expand its snacks business in India, as consumption is very low vis-a-vis other countries and with growing urbanisation and more money coming in the pockets with a growing economy, Kotecha expects consumption of packed foods to increase.

PepsiCo, the makers of Kurkure and Lays, has internally divided India into nine clusters to match the regional taste buds of "multiple Indias", he said, adding "if you say it's just one India, I think we are not doing enough justice to it."

"You need to design your portfolio, keeping those consumers of India like multiple Indias. So that's on being consumer-centric and starting to work and drilling down on that. And then understanding what the trends are in terms of taste, profile, health and wellness," Kotecha told PTI.

It is investing "a significant amount" in understanding consumers better as India has a rich heritage of food, cooking, beverages and drinks, he added.

PepsiCo presently has manufacturing plants at Mathura in UP, Channo in Punjab, Ranjangaon in Pune and Sankrail near Kolkata in West Bengal. Moreover, its next plant is coming up in Assam, which will be operational this year.

Besides, PepsiCo plans two more greenfield plants, including one for South to meet the growing demand there.

Its food segment contributes nearly 80 per cent of its revenue, in which it operates through brands such as - Lays, Kurkure, Doritos and Quaker, and Kotecha expects growth in the coming years as the consumption in the Indian market is very low compared to other markets.

In the oatmeal category, PepsiCo is facing competition from home-grown firms such as Marico and some other companies. However, it still leads in the base oatmeal category.

"Health and wellness is a good trend to grow. We have been growing on Quaker double-digits. On our base oatmeal, we still lead the category. Saffola, leads the category more on the flavored variety," he said.

When asked about multiple India stories, Kotecha said PepsiCo will keep innovating. Products like the Magic Masala in Lays, are not the same across the country. It varies from region to region, he said.

"The masala profile which we have on Lays in Northern India is slightly different from the Western India, which is slightly on the sweeter side. And when you go to the southern part of India, it's very spicy," he said.

Even the cooking oil used for products like Kurkure is changed based on the region, as in the East it's mustard-based profile and in the South it's sesame oil (gingelly oil).

"Rice is a huge substrate in the South for snacks. Besan is a substrate in Western India and Central India. How do I use it? So we can create products for Indian consumers for multiple Indias. And that's the journey we have started, and that's what we want to keep growing on," he said.

PepsiCo is working with 27,000 potato farmers in India to source over 400,000 tons of chip grade potatoes from states including Punjab, Gujarat, West Bengal, MP and now from Assam. It has an agro R&D Facility at Zahura in Punjab for potato breeding.