
PepsiCo has set out plans to invest in a savoury snacks plant in India, a major emerging market for the US food giant.
The Lay’s crisps maker is to install a new production line at its factory in the state of West Bengal.
PepsiCo said the investment is part of plans it announced last year to double the size of its snacks business in India in volume terms by 2022. The company declined to provide specific figures.
In a statement provided to just-food, PepsiCo said: “The West Bengal facility is a snacks manufacturing facility and produces Lay’s, Kurkure, Uncle Chipps and Doritos. The new line will expand the potato chips manufacturing operation with capacity enhancement.”
It added: “The line expansion in West Bengal will generate 300 additional jobs across the PepsiCo manufacturing and distribution system in the state.” PepsiCo did not provide details on the number of staff working at the plant at present.
As part of the investment, PepsiCo intends to increase its potato sourcing from West Bengal by 50%. All the potatoes used for Lay’s and Uncle Chipps snacks are sourced from Indian farmers.

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By GlobalDataLast week, PepsiCo made a group-wide announcement in which it said it plans to instigate a restructuring plan to simplify its business model, which will involve job losses and factory closures along with billions of dollars in associated costs.