Published: 12 September 2023

Varun Beverages Zimbabwe is planning for further capacity expansion, which should see the beverages maker put more production lines in the country, as it seeks to meet growing demand for affordable beverages.

Varun, whose plant was commissioned by President Mnangagwa in 2018, started with only one production line but has today grown to 9 production lines.

Now the company is upbeat to invest further in early 2024, for an array of beverages ranging from dairy blends to fruit juices.

"Senior leadership is in discussion to put up more production lines to introduce world-class fruity juices, dairy blend juices, sports drinks and additional high-speed carbonated drink lines in early 2024, to support the growing demand from people of Zimbabwe and unlock export opportunities to few neighbouring countries," revealed the firm in a statement.

Varun Beverages Limited is the second largest franchise of PepsiCo Holdings in the world with strong presence in several countries in Africa and various Asian markets, with future expansion plans.

The Group managed to create solid production, distribution, innovation and marketing capabilities in Zimbabwe.

Since 2018, the beverages-making firm has invested US$110 million to enhance capacity and establish production lines with capacity to produce 80 million bottles and cans per month across the different brands and volume packages.

The anticipated new production lines are therefore expected to further boost product supply on the Zimbabwean market.

"Varun Beverages will continue to adopt the policy of low price, low company margins and its market position of best-in-class products at most affordable prices.

"Varun Beverages will continue to challenge the pricing to extend the benefits to the wonderful consumers of Zimbabwe by ensuring the cost leadership using scale of operation in Zimbabwe and globally and innovation to pass the value to the consumers of Zimbabwe," said the beverages company.

As part of its strategy, the company started to test the market with new products to assess consumer taste and preference, by importing the products before it makes massive investments in a state-of-the-art plant that will produce the above new products using the latest world-class technology and expertise.

For instance, its Daima fruit juice is available in the market in spite of the high cost of imports. The plan is to drop the prices to less than half once the company launches the local production facility.

Another product, Shakerz 500ml, was introduced to meet the milkshake needs of the consumers on a test-market basis. There are a few more milk drinks and flavoured milks that will be introduced on a test-market basis, within the next few months, prior to the launch of Varun Beverages plant facility in Zimbabwe.

This, the company said, will ensure the Zimbabwean market gets value for money.
- The Herald