In Zimbabwe and Zambia, the Indian company will manufacture the PepsiCo brand Simba Munchiez.

 

A deal has been reached between PepsiCo and Varun Beverages, a division of RJ Corp food and drink company in India, for the production and distribution of snacks in Zimbabwe and Zambia.

 

Varun Beverages, based in Gurgaon, Haryana, is to invest about $7 million in two facilities to manufacture snacks under the PepsiCo Simba Munchiez brand.

 

According to a document filed with the Bombay Stock Exchange, the goal is for the Zambia plant to start operations around April 1, 2026 and the Zimbabwe facility to start operations on or before October 1, the following year.

 

Since the 1990s, Varun Beverages, a franchisee of PepsiCo's soft drink brands such Mountain Dew, Miranda, and 7-Up, has stated that each location will be able to produce roughly 5,000 metric tonnes of snacks per year for the different markets in Zimbabwe and Zambia.

 

Varun Foods in Zimbabwe and Varun Beverages in Zambia, the company's separate businesses, will handle the production of Simba Munchiez snacks.

 

Varun Beverages assessed the size of the snacks market in Zimbabwe at about $177 million annually and in Zambia at $156 million, citing industry data.

 

The company said in February that it had also signed a deal with PepsiCo to have the US food and beverage giant produce the Cheetos snack brand in Morocco. The start of production is scheduled for May 1st, 2020.

 

Morocco's snack business is estimated by Varun Beverages to be worth $500 million a year.

 

In addition to Nepal and Sri Lanka, Varun Beverages is a PepsiCo soft drink franchisee in Morocco, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. Nearer to home, the business provides goods to 27 Indian states.

 

At a facility in Kosi, Uttar Pradesh, Varun Beverages began producing PepsiCo Kurkure snacks in 2022. It started distributing the Lays and Doritos brands in Morocco in the same year.

 

Pizza Hut, Costa Coffee, and KFC are just a few of the foodservice franchises that parent firm RJ Corp. has in India. Under the leadership of chairman Ravi Jaipuria, the company brings in about $2 billion a year in sales.