Varun Beverages to Invest $7 Million in PepsiCo Snack Expansion Across Zimbabwe, Zambia

New Delhi: Varun Beverages (VBL), PepsiCo’s bottling partner, announced its intention to establish manufacturing units in Zimbabwe and Zambia. This move involves an investment of $7 million (approximately ₹60 crore), according to a regulatory filing on Monday.

VBL’s subsidiaries, VFZ Varun Foods (Zimbabwe) and Varun Beverages (Zambia), are set to enter into agreements with PepsiCo. These agreements will focus on manufacturing, distributing, and selling the snacks brand Simba Munchiez in Zimbabwe and Zambia.

The company has discussed with PepsiCo about an exclusive snacks franchising arrangement through Premier Nutrition Trading, Dubai, a PepsiCo subsidiary. This partnership aims to produce Simba Munchiez across multiple variants in both Zimbabwe and Zambia.

According to the filing, the estimated investment for setting up the manufacturing facilities is $7 million, targeting an annual production capacity of 5,000 metric tons (MT) for Simba Munchiez at each location in Zimbabwe and Zambia.