Reliance, Coca-Cola invest Rs 65,000 Cr in Food Processing

New Delhi, Sep 25 (PTI) Betting big on the country's food processing sector, Reliance Consumer Products and three bottlers of Coca-Cola announced over Rs 65,000 crore investment to set up facilities on the first day of the World Food India Summit.

Union Food Processing Industries Minister Chirag Paswan on Thursday said the sector would attract investments of more than Rs 1 lakh crore during the summit, which is being organised from September 25-28 in the national capital.

"During this event, we are expecting to sign MoUs of more than Rs 1 lakh crore," the minister said while replying to a query on the sidelines of the World Food India Event.

Paswan said the agreements worth Rs 65,000 crore were signed on Thursday morning with two big corporates -- Reliance Consumer Products Ltd (RCPL) and three Coca-Cola bottlers.

The event kick-started on a positive note with Reliance Consumer Products Ltd signing a Rs 40,000-crore agreement with the Food Processing Industries Ministry to establish integrated food manufacturing facilities across the country.

Under the MoU, RCPL will invest more than Rs 1,500 crore to set up integrated facilities for food products and beverages in Katol, Nagpur, in Maharashtra and Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh.

Reliance Industries had announced the investment plan at its annual general meeting in August, saying it would create "Asia's largest integrated food parks with AI-driven automation, robotics, and sustainable technologies".

Separately, three Coca-Cola bottlers in India will jointly invest Rs 25,760 crore (USD 2.96 billion) to expand the country's food processing infrastructure and have signed memoranda of understanding with the ministry for greenfield and brownfield projects, according to an industry official.

SLMG Beverages, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (Coca-Cola's wholly-owned bottling arm), and Kandhari Group of Companies have committed to the investment, which will span nine states, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Gujarat, Punjab, Rajasthan and Jammu.

"Coca-Cola India and all the other bottlers, including SLMG Beverages, have signed an MoU worth Rs 25,760 crore with the food processing industry," Paritosh Ladhani, joint managing director of SLMG Beverages, told PTI.

SLMG Beverages, Coca-Cola's largest bottler in India, will contribute Rs 8,000 crore to the investment, Ladhani added.

The projects are expected to generate 30,000 direct jobs and 3,00,000 indirect employment opportunities. Its implementation will begin this year and is targeted for completion by 2030.

The ministry has assured support in obtaining necessary regulatory clearances for the proposed investments.

India ranks as Coca-Cola's fifth-largest market globally, where the beverage giant continues to strengthen its presence through strategic expansions.

RCPL, which emerged from Reliance Retail and became a direct subsidiary of Reliance Industries, has become one of India's fastest-growing fast-moving consumer goods companies, generating a revenue of over Rs 11,000 crore in just three years since inception.

At the August AGM, Reliance Industries director Isha Ambani said that RCPL was among the group's "growth engines" and aimed to achieve revenue of Rs 1 lakh crore within five years with a global presence.

"Our long-term ambition is to become India's largest FMCG company with a global presence," Ambani had said, adding that the FMCG business would serve as a "blueprint for expansion" into apparel, electronics and other consumer categories.

RCPL has acquired several consumer brands, including Tagz Foods and launched house brands ranging from soap to cola under names, including Campa, Independence, Alan's, Enzo and Ravalgaon.