PepsiCo India 2025 revenue up 8% as snacks growth offsets weak beverage sales
Gurugram: PepsiCo India Holdings Pvt. Ltd reported 8% increase in consolidated revenue ₹9,798 crore for calendar year 2025, while net profit increased by 4.5% ₹905 crore.
PepsiCo India management told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday that the company’s food business grew 11% year-on-year, but the company did not disclose revenues for the segment. Management said innovations in premium snacks had helped boost top-line growth, while unseasonal rains last summer had hurt growth in the drinks business.
“Last year, we launched a ‘jowar puff’ with Kurkure, which is not a national product but a highly localised, traditional product,” Jagrut Kotecha, managing director of PepsiCo India and South Asia, said at the briefing. “Same thing with beverages; we realized that hydration was a big area along with energy (beverages). That’s when we accelerated our Nimbooz (lemon drink brand) portfolio.”
PepsiCo also launched its premium chips brand Red Rock Deli in November last year.
“These figures have also created the extraordinary impact of the Wage Code (New Labor Code) enacted last year,” Savitha Balachandran, chief financial officer of PepsiCo India and South Asia, told reporters.
Balachandran added that there were some negative weather conditions on the beverage front and competition was intensifying. “However, we are pleased to see that the price package interventions we have made have helped us maintain our revenue profile.”
Last year, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Consumer started expanding its soft drink brand Campa Cola from small towns to big cities, lagging behind market leaders PepsiCo and The Coca-Cola Company with its 200ml PET bottle price. ₹10.
Hot summer, cool inflation
PepsiCo India expects summer beverage sales to be better this year as some parts of the country are facing heat waves and a possible El Niño event will lead to weak monsoons.
“We have not yet seen our demand signals weaken,” Kotecha said. “So that’s good news for us.” But he added that everyone must accept a “new reality” where disruptions are normal and companies should be prepared to review 3-, 6- and 9-month plans rather than annual operating plans.
PepsiCo has not yet increased prices, Kotecha said, adding that only palm oil prices could pose a risk as India imports most of the packaged food industry.
Consumer packaged goods companies have been steadily increasing their prices this quarter due to rising costs of basic raw materials. Just this month major dairy cooperatives increased milk prices ₹3-4 per liter, while some packaged bread brands have increased the rates in major cities. Meanwhile, the government has increased petrol and diesel prices twice this month; Firstly ₹3 per liter, again 90 paise in a few days.
However, beverage manufacturers and analysts following the industry are not worried for now.
“The company remains bullish on domestic demand and no adverse impact from inflation is expected,” analysts at brokerage firm Motilal Oswal wrote in a note late last month on Varuni Beverages, PepsiCo’s largest bottler outside the US.
“Strong traction on new launches such as Nimbooz (~60% growth) and Tropicana (100% growth), as well as the expected El Niño-induced heat wave, are expected to further boost beverage consumption and support a strong outlook in the near term,” the note said.
“Encouragingly, India’s volume growth increased by 14.4%, driven by initiatives such as packaging expansion, selective price launches to new consumers in designated markets, and new launches in the energy and juice-based beverage segments,” analysts at brokerage firm Emkay Securities, who follow Varun Beverages, wrote in a note in late April. “New launches such as A-Rush and Sting Classic are seeing strong traction with better-than-expected demand, but aluminum can shortage remains a constraint.”
But with crude oil prices rising steadily due to the West Asian war, prices for plastic packaging, including PET bottles, which are vital to the beverage industry, could also come under pressure, hurting margins.
