PepsiCo Chairman and Global CEO Ramon Laguarta, who is on a three-day visit to India, met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday for a talk on the long-term strategy of the company for the Indian market.
It is Laguarta's second trip to India in the last six months, and this highlights India's importance for the beverages and snacks behemoth. He is joined by the global executive committee members of PepsiCo.
"Yesterday, our Chairman & CEO Ramon Laguarta was honored to meet the Prime Minister in New Delhi to discuss strengthening PepsiCo’s long-term commitment to India and exploring opportunities for collaboration in areas such as manufacturing, sustainability, innovation, and community development," PepsiCo said in a LinkedIn post on Wednesday.
Even though Laguarta has been heading PepsiCo's board almost for seven years now, it was his first meeting with the Prime Minister. PepsiCo India CEO Jagrut Kotecha was also attending the meeting.
India is one of PepsiCo's "anchor markets," and the firm is committed to growth investment there. Active projects involve a new foods facility in Assam and a concentrate facility in Madhya Pradesh, as well as substantial investment in a greenfield snacks plant in the vicinity of Mathura in Uttar Pradesh.
The summit comes after a recent GST rate cut, whereby the tax on food items, including snacks, was lowered from 12% to 5%. This is good news for PepsiCo's star brands like Lays, Kurkure, Cheetos, and Quaker Oats.
Conversely, GST on beverages increased from 28% to 40% by adding the 12% sin tax. PepsiCo, whose drinks business is operated under brands including Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Mirinda, Sting, Aquafina, Tropicana, and Slice, saw its beverage business slipping in the June quarter.
PepsiCo India Holdings Pvt Ltd reported consolidated revenue from operations of Rs 9,096.62 crore in 2024.
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