fbpx
Get In Touch

PepsiCo deepens its commitment to Ethiopia with $40 million cash injection

PepsiCo deepens its commitment to Ethiopia with $40 million cash injection

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Print

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, 1 November 2022, /African Media Agency/- PepsiCo is finalizing an investment proposal of approximately USD 40 million(ETB 2 billion)to expand its Senselet snacks business in Ethiopia, and is considering the possibility of further investments in the country to expand the company’s portfolio beyond snacks.

Senselet is a wholly owned PepsiCo subsidiarythat produces chips under the brand name SUN Chips. The company was established in 2015, the potato processing site was constructed in 2017 and commercial production started later that same year.

Chris Wijnterp, GM of PepsiCo’s Foods unit in Ethiopia explains that “the investment is further proof of the confidence that PepsiCo has in the potential of the country for economic growth.

“This cash injection will allow us to increase our production capacity for snacks tenfold” adds Wijnterp and clarifies,“This also allows us tofurther leveragePepsiCo’s expertise to help accelerate the growth of Senselet in Ethiopia by boosting its potato sourcing programs, as well as its manufacturing and go-to-market capabilities”.

The investment will fund the creation of another potato chip as well as another snacks line within the existing production facility. Today, Senselet produces and sells Natural (salty), Habesha (locally spiced),Tomato and Paprika flavoured potato crisps in 3 different pack sizes. SUN Chips are sold across approximately 10,000 outlets in Ethiopia which are predominantly Souks (small market shops).

PepsiCo’s strong knowledge of potato cultivation will also enable Senselet to take the next steps in contributing to the development of the potato value chain and agriculture sector in Ethiopia. “This forms part of our efforts under the PepsiCo Positive strategy to help build a more sustainable food system in Ethiopia – one that can meet human needs and continue to drive global economic and social development, within the planet’s natural boundaries”.

The company aims to contribute to food security in Ethiopia by developing the production of potatoes locally, increasing farmers’ income and building a more stable potato value chain. The company has established strong business partnerships with local farmers as well as commercial partners over the past 6 years and is expected to establish further agriculture partnerships to ensure quality and availability of ingredients. These efforts will contribute to the PepsiCo Positive agenda, a strategic end-to-end transformation with sustainability at the centre of how the company will create growth and value by inspiring positive change for the planet and people.

The establishment of the company in Ethiopia in 2017 resulted in the creation of more than 300 jobs as well as the establishment of initial exports to two neighbouring countries. “In addition, it allowed for the procurement of potatoes from several thousands of smallholder farmers, which subsequently doubled their respective income via improved yields and prices” explains Wijnterp. The new investment will create over 500 additional jobs, while also a strong CSR roadmap is defined to further strengthen our role and contribution in local communities. “As an example, we have been donating potatoes to IDP’s in the Amhara region, while under our PepsiCo Foundation umbrella we have donated meals to the elderly during the pandemic”, Wijnterp indicates.

“PepsiCo’s decision to further invest in Ethiopia will result in an acceleration of this impact, with a specific focus to increase our exports revenues, to become nett hard currency positive while increasing our agricultural demand and footprint both in potatoes as well as additional crops”.

Welcoming the announcement from PepsiCo regarding this investment, the Ethiopian Investment Commissioner, LeliseNeme said: “This announcement is testament to the work the Ethiopian government has done in creating a conducive investment environment for foreign companies. The Ethiopia Investment reform process has also improved the opportunities for investment and widened the range of sector and economic activities open to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)” and added “We look forward to witnessing the growth of PepsiCo in Ethiopia and the subsequent benefit to our economy, communities and agricultural sector”.



The final investment is pending the applicable licenses and investment benefits. “We are confident that we will initiate the investment soon, after which we will be able to create even more jobs and look forward to expanding our footprint in this great country.” Concludes Wijnterp.

Distributed by African Media Agencyon behalf of Pepsico

About Senselet

SUN Chips is distributed in Addis Ababa and other large Ethiopian cities and in Natural (salty), Habesha (locally spiced), Tomato and Paprika flavoured potato crisps in 3 different pack sizes. Senselet’s factory, located around 65km from Addis Ababa, is a modern production facility operating in line with high food safety and quality standards. The company now employs more than 150 people. Veris Investments set up Senselet with the aim to build a business that would contribute to the development of the potato value chain in Ethiopia. The company established strong business partnerships with local farmers over the past three years. It has been facilitating a farmer training program with the aim to increase yields and produce high quality potatoes. Partners that have substantially contributed to the success of Senselet include the Dutch Government – Netherlands Enterprise Agency, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research and Wageningen University and Research. 

About PepsiCo 

PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $79 billion in net revenue in 2021, driven by a complementary beverage and convenient foods portfolio that includes Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Quaker, and SodaStream. 

PepsiCo’s product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including many iconic brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales. In South Africa, the company’s brands include Weet-Bix, Simba, Liqui Fruit, Lay’s, SASKO and White Star.

Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Beverages and Convenient Foods by Winning with PepsiCo Positive. PepsiCo Positive is our strategic end-to-end transformation that puts sustainability and human capital at the centre of how we will create value and growth by operating within planetary boundaries and inspiring positive change for planet and people. For more information, visit https://www.ssa.pepsico.africa/. 

You might also enjoy

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Get updates and learn from the best

By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: African Media Agency.

Conférence de Presse en Ligne

Les frontières terrestres ne doivent pas constituer des obstacles à la dissémination de votre message. Grâce à notre service de conférence de presse en ligne, nous vous offrons l’opportunité de vous rapprocher des médias africains, chaque fois que vous en aurez besoin.​

Nos services comprennent:​

​

​

Digital Communications

Today, social networks constitute an organization’s first point of contact with a user and a potential customer. At first glance, you need to convince of the relevance and quality of your content to stimulate and motivate the user to go further. We create consistently inspiring online strategy to meet business objectives, engage stakeholders and enhance our client brand’s reputation internally and externally.​

 

Communication​ digitale

Les réseaux sociaux représentent aujourd’hui le premier point de contact d’une organisation avec un utilisateur et un client potentiel. Au premier coup d’œil, vous devez le convaincre de la pertinence et de la qualité de votre contenu pour l’inciter à aller plus loin. Nous créons pour vous une stratégie de communication précise et adaptée sur les réseaux sociaux pour atteindre les objectifs commerciaux, impliquer les parties prenantes et améliorer la réputation de votre marque en interne et en externe.​

Promotion​ d’événements

Le succès d’un événement réside en moitié dans sa promotion. Peu importe la beauté de l’événement, la qualité des orateurs et de l’ordre du jour, si personne ne rapporte ou ne parle de votre événement, vos efforts seront vains. Nous vous aidons à façonner votre récit et à créer un engouement autour de votre événement. De l’annonce de l’événement à la tenue de celui-ci, nous accompagnons votre effort de planification et le reflétons sur toutes les plateformes médiatiques.​

Formation​ Médiatique

Nous fournissons à vos porte-paroles les outils nécessaires pour présenter vos principaux messages et répondre avec confiance et cohérence aux questions. Notre formation est organisée soit à distance ou en présentiel, avec des études de cas réels et des répétitions. Nos clients repartent avec le sentiment d’être à l’aise devant les journalistes et d’agir en tant qu’ambassadeurs de la marque.​

Veille​ Médiatique

Nous mesurons votre portée en relations publiques et rendons compte des informations de votre industrie et des activités de vos  concurrents en surveillant la majorité des canaux de diffusion dans toute l’Afrique. Une veille médiatique complète et opportune est essentielle pour s’assurer que vous ne manquez aucune référence à votre marque, que vous êtes constamment informé de ce qui se passe dans votre industrie et que vous êtes prêt à saisir les opportunités et à réduire les risques en temps opportun.​

Relations​ Média

Peu importe le lieu où ils se trouvent, nous sommes une source d‘informations fiables pour les journalistes qui écrivent sur l’Afrique. Nous nous connaissons mutuellement et ils nous font confiance, car nous leur fournissons un contenu crédible qui les aide dans leurs tâches. Nous nous entretenons quotidiennement avec des journalistes aux quatre coins du continent, ce qui fait de nous l’un des organismes les plus efficaces pour mener des campagnes de relations avec les médias.

Stratégie et développement de contenu

Nous créons des stratégies de communication intelligentes, bien documentées et spécialisées destinées à vous aider à construire un récit fort qui engagera votre audience. Nous travaillons en synergie avec vous afin de rédiger des communiqués de presse et des articles d’opinions qui alimentent le récit de votre entreprise. Notre équipe a une expérience approfondie dans la création de récits et le développement de contenu multimédia.

DIFFUSION DE COMMUNIQUES​ DE PRESSE​

C’est le service phare d’AMA. Nous avons mis en place des canaux de diffusion des communiqués de presse auprès des journalistes des 54 États africains ainsi qu’auprès des journalistes américains et européens couvrant les sujets relatifs aux marchés émergents.​

​Nos services comprennent:​

​

​

Event Promotion

Half of the success of an event lays in its promotion. Doesn’t matter how beautiful the event is, how wonderful the speakers and the agenda are, if no one reports or talks about your event, your efforts are gone. We help you shape the narrative and create a drumbeat around your event. From the announce all the way to the outcome of the event, we accompany your planning effort and echo it through all media platforms

Media Training

We provide your spokespeople with the tools to present your key messages and answer questions with confidence and coherence. Our training is organised either remotely or face-to- face, with real case studies and rehearsals. Our clients leave feeling comfortable being in front of reporters and acting as brand ambassadors.

Media Monitoring

We measure and report on
your PR reach, industry news, and competitive activity by monitoring most channels in North, West, Central, East and Southern Africa. Comprehensive and timely media monitoring is critical to ensuring that you don’t miss any reporting of your brand,
you’re constantly informed on what’s going on around your business, and you’re ready to capitalise on opportunities and mitigate
risks in a timely fashion..

Media Relations

We have become an authoritative source of news for reporters writing about Africa, wherever they are. We know them, they know us, and they trust us for providing them with timely and accurate content that helps them do their job. We speak to reporters on a daily basis in all corners of the continent and this makes us one of the most effective agencies in running media relations campaigns.

Strategy & Content Development

We create smart and localised communications strategies to help build a strong narrative that will engage your audiences. We partner with you to create press releases and thought leadership pieces that sustain a drumbeat for your company’s narrative. Our team have deep experience in shaping narratives and developing media content.

PRESS RELEASE WIRE DISTRIBUTION

This is AMA’s flagship service. We have set up channels of distribution towards the journalists of the 54 African states, as well as to American journalists and European journalists covering emerging markets issues.
Our service includes:

Editorial advice

Localised editorial piece when needed

Distribution to the major print, broadcast and online publications along with industry-specific publications

Follow-up calls to secure interview request

Guaranteed distribution to Africa.com

Distribution to Bloomberg, LexisNexis and Thomson Reuters

Social Media Reach: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram

Full online monitoring and print monitoring when available. Includesreadership stats and Advertising Value Equivalent

Translation in French, Arabic and Portuguese available