Beverage maker PepsiCo and its long-standing franchise bottling partner RJ Corp-owned Varun Beverages on Monday said the latter has acquired PepsiCo’s bottling business in the South and West India for an undisclosed amount. This makes VBLNSE 2.26 % national bottling partner for PepsiCo.
PepsiCo India president Ahmed El Sheikh confirmed the development.
“To unlock the full potential of PepsiCo’s operating model in India, the company has decided to franchise its company-owned bottling operations in South and West regions to Varun Beverages Limited (VBL), subject to receipt of necessary statutory approvals.”
ET had first reported in its January 14 edition that PepsiCo and RJ Corp were in advanced talks for the same.
Sheikh said with this agreement, VBL will acquire a national bottling, sales and distribution footprint. “The move will profitably drive synergies of scale, operational productivity and efficiency across all facets of PepsiCo’s beverage business.”
He said PepsiCo will retain responsibility of category creation, brand building and development of the beverage portfolio to drive sustainable profitable growth.
