New Delhi: FMCG company Pepsi Co India remains largely unaffected by the global slowdown and its plans for India are on track, according to Sanjeev Chaddha, PepsiCo India country chairman.
 
Chaddha said Pepsi Co India has posted record sales by volumes in the September-October period. However, he admitted that while the third quarter revenue growth of the company had been normal, sectoral volume growth had been a bit slow.

However, he said, the company has not increased the price of any of its products during the recent months unlike rival Coca-Cola and would try to maintain the price line.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum's India edition, Chaddha said, "The global slowdown has mostly affected consumer durables and the financial and banking sectors while there has been no slowdown in FMCG."

Pepsi Co is now set to introduce a range of low-priced fortified products to address micro-nutrient deficiency in India and will finalise the product by the first quarter of next year.

Keeping in mind affordability, the company is evaluating price points as low as Re 1 to Rs 5 and is evaluating a sustainable model to achieve this Chaddha said.

The company is also carrying out research on making the products tasty and fun. The initiative will address the nutrient needs of adolescents and pregnant women. PepsiCo will also invest significantly in developing the market infrastructure for the launch.

The company is also conducting studies on absorption levels of various nutrients and how they can be added in snacks or beverages without affecting their shelf life are also being conducted.

The initiative is in line with PepsiCo's aim to increase the share of healthy products in its portfolio to 50 per cent from the present level of 30 per cent as announced by PepsiCo Chairperson and CEO Indra Nooyi on her recent visit to India.

PepsiCo recently announced an investment of $500 million in its India operations over the next three years as part of an initiative to treble its revenue in the next five years.

The investment will be in increasing manufacturing capacity, market infrastructure, environment sustainability initiatives, R&D and agriculture. It aims to generate 50,000 direct and indirect jobs in India.

PepsiCo has invested $700 million in India since its entry into India in 1989. It employs 4,000 people directly and about 60,000 others indirectly.

Pepsi Co has not yet hiked the prices of its soft drinks and bottled water, like rival Coca-Cola. However, he said the company was considering increasing prices of soft drinks and snack foods this quarter but would minimise the price hike by improving production efficiencies, he said.

Chadha said the company is infusing an additional $500 million in new manufacturing capacities, marketing infrastructure, sustainability and R&D over the next three years.