Varun Beverages to set up units for PepsiCo’s snacks brand in Zimbabwe, Zambia

Varun Beverages Ltd, a franchise partner of PepsiCo, on Monday said its two subsidiaries plan to enter into an agreement with the multinational food and beverages major to manufacture, distribute and sell the snacks brand ‘Simba Munchiez’ in Zimbabwe and Zambia. The company plans to set up manufacturing units in Zimbabwe and Zambia entailing an investment of US$7 million, according to a regulatory filing by Varun Beverages Ltd (VBL) in India.

Through its subsidiaries – VFZ Varun Foods (Zimbabwe) Pvt Ltd (VFZ) and Varun Beverages (Zambia) Ltd (VBZ), VBL has discussed with PepsiCo to further strengthen and expand the latter’s footprint in the snacks portfolio.

Varun Zimbabwe recently expanded into the confectionary market starting with the manufacture of biscuits. They were also looking acquiring the more established players within the space last year but none of the negotiations were successful.

It has discussed with PepsiCo to enter into an exclusive snacks franchising appointment with Premier Nutrition Trading LLC, Dubai (a PepsiCo Inc. subsidiary) to manufacture, distribute and sell ‘Simba Munchiez’ in the territory of Zimbabwe and Zambia, the filing added.

“As per the understanding, an estimated investment in the manufacturing facility would be around US$7 million for an annual capacity of 5,000 MT for manufacturing of Simba Munchiez in multiple SKUs (stock keeping units) at each location of Zimbabwe and Zambia,” it said.

The franchising appointment will be effective on or before October 1, 2025, for Zimbabwe and April 1, 2026, for Zambia, once the respective manufacturing facilities come into operation, the company said.

Under the agreement, PepsiCo shall give a strong push in certain fast-moving SKUs through price initiatives while VBL subsidiaries will leverage its distribution prowess to introduce the new affordable range of snacks products from PepsiCo, it said. – Business Standard with additions from FinX