Varun Beverages, one of the largest bottlers of PepsiCo products outside the US, on Saturday announced that it has initiated commercial production of carbonated soft drinks & energy drinks at its production facility at Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. “We would like to inform you that our Company has today started commercial production of carbonated soft drinks & energy drinks (juices and value added dairy products to be started) at its production facility at Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh,” the company said in a regulatory filing.
Earlier in March, Varun Beverages had released its 2023 annual report, wherein the company had said that commissioning multiple greenfield and brownfield beverage manufacturing lines in 2023 were a significant step and would be vital to meet increasing consumer demand and tapping into new market opportunities.
The company said that its growth strategy involves strengthening its distribution network and chilling infrastructure. It has commissioned new production facilities at Bundi in Rajasthan and Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, and expanded capacity at six existing locations — Pathankot, Kosi, Bharuch, Tirunelveli, Begusarai and Guwahati — in recent months.
Varun Beverages has a presence in 27 states and seven Union Territories in India, and five other countries. This includes Nepal, Sri Lanka, Morocco, Zambia and Zimbabwe. As of December 31, 2023, the company operated 40 manufacturing facilities – 34 in India and six in overseas markets.
For the calendar year 2023, the company reported a 21.8 per cent jump in revenue at Rs 16,042.6 crore. The profit after tax grew by 35.6 per cent on a year-on-year basis to reach Rs 2,101.8 crore in 2023. The growth, it had stated, was driven by robust consumption across segments, which helped the company in gaining 13.9 per cent and 7 per cent increase in consolidated sales volume and net realisation per case, each.