PepsiCo to Tap into India’s Flavour Diversity to Drive Snack Market Growth

PepsiCo has planned to expand and diversify its offerings in the packed food segment. The Kurkure maker is investing significantly to cater to the needs of diverse Indian customers with varied taste buds, including to understand India’s rich heritage of food, unique cooking style, beverages, and drinks. This development comes at a time when the snacks maker is pinning hopes on the growing snack market in India. 

Speaking to PTI, India and South Asia CEO Jagrut Kotecha highlighted that increasing urbanisation in the country and rising disposable income of people are the major factors driving the demand for packaged food items. 

“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,” PepsiCo South Asia CEO told PTI. “And then understanding what the trends are in terms of taste, profile, health and wellness,” Kotecha added.

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PepsiCo Eyes Snack Market Boom 

A report by International Market Analysis Research and Consulting Group (IMARC) had shed light on the trends, highlighting growth projections of the Indian snack market. The study has estimated the market to double in size, from Rs 42,694.9 crore in 2023 to Rs 95,521.8 crore by 2032. Apart from urbanisation and soaring disposable incomes, changing lifestyles are another key factor driving demand. 

These growth projections have made the Indian snack segment particularly attractive for the American major. In the past few years, the company has launched many products including three variants of the Quaker Oats brand, four and seven different variants in its snacks and chips segment, respectively. 

“We continue to see a lot of growth in many parts of our AMESA region, in particular, India is a big growth space for us, and it is an investment area for sure...The opportunity is massive, if you take a decade perspective,” said PepsiCo chairman and CEO Ramon Laguarta during an investor’s call last year. 

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Moreover, PepsiCo is also placing bets on the growing demand for healthy snacks in the country. According to grandviewresearch.com, India’s healthy snacks market stood at $3,849.1 million in 2023 and is projected to grow at a 7.6% CAGR to $6,427.5 million by 2030.