PepsiCo, one of the world’s largest food and beverage companies, demonstrated its commitment to the Middle East with the inauguration of its newest manufacturing facility. Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo chairman and CEO, inaugurated the all-new snacks plant in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
This is the company’s 15th facility in the Middle East. PepsiCo has been doing business in the region for 60 years.
Nooyi was accompanied by Dr Tawfig Alrabiah, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Abdullatif Al Othman, governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (Sagia), and Saleh Al Rasheed, director general of the Saudi Industrial Property Authority (Modon), at the opening of the state-of-the-art facility.
Omar Farid, president, Pepsico Middle East and Africa, was present.
“The Middle East is a dynamic food and beverage market and a critical engine of growth for PepsiCo,” said Nooyi. “Over the years, PepsiCo and Saudi Arabia have prospered together and the investment in this plant is testament to our belief in PepsiCo’s bright future in this country and the wider region. The plant will be a critical hub for our company, bringing some of PepsiCo’s best-loved snacks and newest innovations to Saudi Arabia and markets throughout the region,” she added.
The Dammam plant covers 55,000 sq m and will employ 300 staff, including 40 women. It will supply the snack market across Saudi Arabia while further enhancing the company’s ability to provide consumers throughout the Middle East with a range of food choices.
The new facility is the latest addition to PepsiCo’s growing network of energy-efficient buildings around the world. The plant was built in accordance with criteria set by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (Leed), the world’s leading green building standard, and is expected to reduce PepsiCo’s environmental footprint by minimising waste and maximising energy efficiency.
The Middle East is a key component of PepsiCo’s overall plan to drive growth in developing and emerging markets globally. Developing and emerging markets accounted for 35 per cent of PepsiCo’s net revenue in 2013.
The opening of the Dammam plant follows two months after PepsiCo opened an innovation centre in Dubai’s Dubiotech, its first facility in the Middle East. The facility will serve as a hub of new products and flavours innovations for PepsiCo’s businesses across the region.
PepsiCo says its products are enjoyed by consumers one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $66 billion in net revenue in 2013, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo’s product portfolio includes a wide range of foods and beverages, including 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.