Most of the major food and beverage companies are now investing in China as part of their expansion strategies. PepsiCo (PEP), one of the world’s largest food and beverage company, opened its first overseas “green” plant in Chongqing, China. The investment is part of the company’s plans to invest $1 billion in the country.
This is the largest, and the most ambitious development effort of PEP in China to date. The Chongqing plant is the first “green” beverage plant ever built in China, and the first of its kind in the industrial center of Chongqing to comply with the rigorous sustainable engineering standards known as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) set by the Green Building Council.
The plant utilizes over 35 water- and energy-saving designs and operates under the world’s most advanced technology, including an environmental management system that monitors water and energy use on every production line and every piece of individual equipment in real time. Therefore, the state-of-the-art beverage facility is important to the company’s ongoing strategy to expand in emerging markets and broaden its portfolio of locally relevant products.
In addition, PEP also plans to fund a variety of major capital programs to grow its manufacturing capacity in China. Over the next two years, the company intends to open five new beverage manufacturing plants in Kunming, Zhengzhou, Quanzhou, Lanzhou and Nanchang, strengthen its local research and development capabilities and broaden its portfolio of Chinese-designed and developed products such as Tropicana Guo Bin Fen juices, Lay’s Lychee potato chips and Cao Ben Le drinks, which are inspired by traditional Chinese medicine.
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