Pepsi to build 2 new plants

One plant at the Amata City Industrial Estate in Rayong province, bought from San Miguel in February for Bt2 billion, would serve as a bottling plant of Pepsi-Cola drinks, as its bottling contract with Serm Suk Plc, its partner for nearly 60 years, ends at the end of October. It was reported that Serm Suk would immediately launch its own carbonated soft-drink brand on November 1. Meanwhile, continuous investment has been made in salty snack production, including at one manufacturing plant in Lamphun, with full production capacity of 45,000 tonnes a year and five distribution centres. PepsiCo decided this year to invest in a second snack plant in Rojana Industrial Park, Ayutthaya, which won investment promotion privileges from the Board of Investment.

"60 years in Thailand is a big milestone for us and we couldn’t have done it without the support from our consumers and partners. It is PepsiCo’s commitment to continue delivering products that are better for the consumers in Thailand; to satisfy their demands, consumer trends and to be a part of the Thai family for many generations to come," said Jagrut Kotecha, general manager for beverages for Pepsi-Cola (Thai) Trading, in a statement.

PepsiCo entered the Thai market in 1952, with the introduction of Pepsi carbonated soft drink. In 1995, it entered the snack market, offering several brands like Lay’s, Tawan, Sunbites, Twisties, Doritos and also Quaker Oats.

Jagrut, referring to a consumer survey in August, said that Pepsi won endorsement from 73 per cent as the leading soft-drink brand. The "Pepsithai" Facebook has drawn over 1 million fans.

"Apparently, our strong brand equity and brand-consumer engagement have brought us success across all our major beverage brands, and we strongly believe that they will be the foundation for our future growth. As the industry leader, it is our strong intention to develop and grow our business together with Thailand and to serve our consumers with a variety of quality products," he said.

The plant in Rayong, formerly used to produce fruit juice, is the firm’s first beverage plant in Thailand. Upon purchase in February, Pepsi has equipped it with new technology to ensure global quality, efficient operation and reduction in water and energy use.

In the salty snack market, Mookda Pairatchavet, general manager for food for Pepsi-Cola (Thai) Trading, said that in addition to the infrastructure investment, it will keep on supporting and investing in the local communities by partnering with more than 6,500 local farmers to develop quality potatoes and sharing good agricultural practice to them to improve crop yields.