Brands
PepsiCo’s India ambitions: fizzing with growth potential
MUMBAI: In the sweltering heat of India’s bustling metropolises, where street vendors hawk their wares amid a cacophony of honking horns and animated chatter, PepsiCo has spotted an oasis of opportunity. The beverage and snack behemoth aims to double its revenue in this vibrant South Asian nation over the next five years, viewing India as a critical “key anchor market” where it’s pouring investments like a perfectly fizzy drink into a chilled glass.
PepsiCo India & South Asia CEO Jagrut Kotecha, with eyes sparkling like carbonated bubbles rising to the surface, revealed that India will serve as the “engine of growth” for PepsiCo’s global revenue ambitions. Standing tall among the company’s top three markets globally, India’s performance has been anything but flat, serving up double-digit growth that’s as refreshing as a cold sip on a blistering summer day.
“We believe India will be the engine of growth for PepsiCo to drive the top line,” Kotecha explained, gesturing expressively during an exclusive interview with PTI. “Our per capita consumption in India is still very low, not only for beverages and food, but we would expect one of PepsiCo’s fastest-growing economies to change that,” he added, his optimism as effervescent as a freshly opened bottle of cola.
The company hasn’t been crisping about when it comes to investments. PepsiCo has already established greenfield plants in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, where golden wheat fields stretch to the horizon, and is preparing to pop open a new facility in Assam, nestled among lush tea plantations in India’s verdant northeast, by year’s end.
“We are not going to be investment shy,” Kotecha declared, with the confidence of someone holding the winning hand in a high-stakes game. “We’re going to be investing forward to drive that growth because it’s there for us to capture.”

The numbers tell a tasty tale: PepsiCo has poured close to Rs 3,500-4,000 crore into the Indian market over the past three years—an investment as substantial as a fully loaded potato crisp.
The American giant has crafted a strategy as carefully layered as a perfectly constructed sandwich. It has divided the kaleidoscopic Indian market into nine distinct clusters based on taste preferences, demonstrating an understanding that India’s palate is as diverse as its colourful festivals and traditions.
PepsiCo operates through instantly recognisable brands that have become as familiar to Indians as the sight of cricket matches in neighbourhood parks—Kurkure with its distinctive crunch, Lay’s with its perfect crisp, thoughtful Quaker, and zesty Doritos dominate its food segment, which contributed a hearty 80 per cent to PepsiCo India’s revenue in 2023.
The remaining 20 per cent bubbled up from beverages, a segment handled by bottling partner Varun Beverages Ltd (VBL), which operates a network of 41 plants scattered across the country like stars in the night sky. VBL isn’t sipping slowly either—they’ve increased capacity by a quarter this year alone.

Its beverages brand include carbonated fare such as Mountain Dew, 7up, Pepsi, and energy drink Sting and sports beverages Gatorade, while in juices it has Tropicana and Slice brands .PepsiCo operates with Kurkure, Lays, Quaker and Doritos in the snacks category.
When questioned about new competitor Reliance’s Campa Cola, which has been creating ripples in the market with aggressive pricing and distributor margins, Kotecha maintained the composed demeanour of a drink that hasn’t lost its fizz.
“It’s always good to have competition. Competition only helps to grow the category,” he remarked with the wisdom of a seasoned market player. “Even before Pepsi and Coke were there, there were a lot of local, regional players. Now Campa has also come with a lot of flair and expense. So our belief is the category will then grow and consumption will grow.”
This optimistic outlook comes even as India’s per capita consumption remains “far less” than neighbouring Pakistan—a fact that doesn’t seem to dilute Kotecha’s enthusiasm.
The vision for PepsiCo India is as clear as a glass of Mountain Dew: to achieve $2 billion (around Rs 17,000 crore) in revenue in the coming years. Having reported over Rs 5,950 crore in 2023 (for nine months due to a change in fiscal year), and maintaining double-digit growth since then, PepsiCo appears to be on a trajectory as steady as a perfectly balanced can of soda.
As the sun sets over the vast Indian landscape, painting the sky in hues of orange and purple, PepsiCo continues to bet big on a country where every street corner could potentially house a new consumer ready to reach for a cold drink or a packet of crisps. In this land of a billion dreams, PepsiCo is hoping its growth story will be nothing short of effervescent.
Brands
Delhivery chairman Deepak Kapoor, independent director Saugata Gupta quit board
Gurugram: Delhivery’s boardroom is being reset. Deepak Kapoor, chairman and independent director, has resigned with effect from April 1 as part of a planned board reconstitution, the logistics company said in an exchange filing. Saugata Gupta, managing director and chief executive of FMCG major Marico and an independent director on Delhivery’s board, has also stepped down.
Kapoor exits after an eight-year stint that included steering the company through its 2022 stock-market debut, a period that saw Delhivery transform from a venture-backed upstart into one of India’s most visible logistics platforms. Gupta, who joined the board in 2021, departs alongside him, marking a simultaneous clearing of two senior independent seats.
“Deepak and Saugata have been instrumental in our process of recognising the need for and enabling the reconstitution of the board of directors in line with our ambitious next phase of growth,” said Sahil Barua, managing director and chief executive, Delhivery. The statement frames the exits less as departures and more as deliberate succession, a boardroom shuffle timed to the company’s evolving scale and strategy.
The resignations arrive amid broader governance recalibration. In 2025, Delhivery appointed Emcure Pharmaceuticals whole-time director Namita Thapar, PB Fintech founder and chairman Yashish Dahiya, and IIM Bangalore faculty member Padmini Srinivasan as independent directors, signalling a tilt towards consumer, fintech and academic expertise at the board level.
Kapoor’s tenure spanned Delhivery’s most defining years, rapid network expansion, public listing and the push towards profitability in a bruising logistics market. Gupta’s presence brought FMCG and brand-scale perspective during a period when ecommerce volumes and last-mile delivery economics were being rewritten.
The twin exits, effective from the new financial year, underscore a familiar corporate rhythm: founders consolidate, veterans rotate out, and fresh voices are ushered in to script the next chapter. In India’s hyper-competitive logistics race, even the boardroom does not stand still.
Brands
Brnd.me enters Europe as haircare brands power global expansion
Bengaluru: Brnd.me, the global consumer brands company formerly known as Mensa Brands, has entered the European market following strong momentum across the Middle East, the United States and Canada.
The company has launched across the UK, Germany, France and Spain, with plans to expand into Italy, the Netherlands and Poland over the next year. The push is being led by its haircare and aromatherapy brands, Botanic Hearth and Majestic Pure, marking Brnd.me’s first structured expansion into Europe.
The European beauty market represents a total addressable opportunity of over $4 billion across haircare and aromatherapy, supported by high digital adoption and demand for accessible, performance-led products.
Brnd.me’s hair care and aromatherapy business currently operates at an annual run rate of around $6 million, with Botanic Hearth and Majestic Pure delivering roughly 10 per cent month-on-month growth, driven by expansion and rising repeat demand.
To support regional growth, the company has appointed a general manager based in Germany and is evaluating investments in warehousing and local team expansion.
Early traction has been strong. Within weeks of launch, Botanic Hearth’s rosemary hair oil ranked among the top five hair oils in Germany, signalling strong consumer pull in a competitive market.
Brnd.me founder and chief executive officer Ananth Narayanan, said Europe represents the next phase of the company’s international strategy. He added that the European business is expected to scale to a $10 million annual run rate by the end of 2026, with long-term ambitions to reach $60 million over the next six years.
The company’s Europe strategy centres on digital-first distribution, repeat demand and TikTok-led discovery, alongside direct-to-consumer expansion to strengthen brand equity and margins.
The move also aligns with growing EU–India trade engagement, supporting long-term sourcing and cross-border supply chains.
Brands
TechnoSport taps quick commerce with launch on Slikk’s 60-minute platform
NATIONAL: TechnoSport has launched on Slikk, the ultra-fast fashion app offering 60-minute delivery, as the activewear brand accelerates its push into quick commerce to capture Gen Z and young millennial shoppers.
The debut brings more than 150 high-performance styles to Slikk’s platform, with an average selling price of Rs 450, expanding TechnoSport’s reach across over 80 pin codes.
The partnership follows strong momentum for TechnoSport across Q-commerce channels, where the brand has recorded around 60 per cent volume growth over the past six months. The company expects quick commerce to contribute nearly 20 per cent of its revenue in the coming years as hyperlocal delivery gains scale.
Slikk, which recently raised $3.2 million in seed funding led by Lightspeed, has rapidly gained popularity among youth consumers seeking speed, trend relevance and impulse-led shopping experiences.
Activewear remains one of Slikk’s fastest-growing categories, driven by shoppers increasingly treating fitness-led fashion as an everyday essential. The platform has reported a 30-fold year-on-year increase in items sold, reflecting rising demand for performance wear that blends comfort with style.
TechnoSport chief executive officer Puspen Maity, said the collaboration would help the brand engage more closely with young consumers whose fashion choices are shaped by instant needs and lifestyle aspirations. He added that rapid delivery bridges the gap between intent and purchase, allowing shoppers to access activewear exactly when they want it.
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