PepsiCo opens China R&D centre

29-Mar-2006 - Last updated on 19-Jul-2008 at 12:12 GMT

US soft drinks giant Pepsi opened its first research and
development centre outside the US in Shanghai yesterday, signalling
its commitment to the fast-growing Chinese market.

A spokesman at the firm said the research centre, which also includes a new laboratory to analyse and improve food, would develop products to cater to the taste of Chinese consumers.

"It will create both beverages and snacks," he told BeverageDaily sister site AP-Foodtechnology.com.

Pepsi is currently involved in around 40 joint ventures and solely-owned ventures in China - its second largest market outside the US - with total investment exceeding US$1bn.

PepsiCo has previously said it will invest a further $850m in China in the next three years.

Its sales in the country grew by more than 25 per cent in 2005 and are expected to increase by the same amount again this year, according to Achal Agarwal, PepsiCo's vice president for its beverage unit in Greater China, who revealed the figures in a Reuters interview earlier this year.

He said sales from the company's key beverage unit in China were close to $1bn in 2005, accounting for some 80 per cent of its sales in the country.