PepsiCo India is doubling down on its no-sugar and low-sugar beverages portfolio, which now accounts for nearly 73 per cent of the consolidated sales volumes. For the snacks and beverage major, India is an anchor market, and the company said it is focusing on transformation of its portfolio, in line with evolving consumer needs.
Nitin Bhandari, VP & General Manager – Beverages, PepsiCo India & South Asia, told businessline, “Over the last 18 months, we have stepped up our focus on transformation of our beverage portfolio. The mix of the business is changing. Over a year ago, nearly 50 per cent of the volume used to be contributed by low-sugar and no-sugar products. This has now increased to 73-74 per cent of our beverage portfolio volume. We believe that over the next one and a half years, low-sugar and zero-sugar products will account for nearly 90 per cent of the portfolio volumes.”
As consumers are seeking more choices, the zero-sugar category, at an industry level, is growing to the tune of 40 per cent, he pointed out. The company offers zero-sugar options for various brands, including 7UP, Pepsi, Gatorade, Mountain Dew, and Nimbooz Jeera Soda.
Talking about the low-sugar portfolio strategy, Bhandari said, “We have made reformulations and transformations in our carbonated soft drinks portfolio, including Pepsi, 7UP, and Mountain Dew. By reducing sugar to less than 100 calories per serving, we have developed a great-tasting low-sugar portfolio. This is supported by our R&D centre in the country, as well as our proprietary technology on sweeteners and blends.”
Asked about the key drivers for the portfolio transformation, he added, “We believe we need to deliver a future-backed portfolio, and we are focused on how the consumer preferences are changing. This is being done to drive business growth as we are putting the transformation at the centre. We believe this will help us drive market growth.”
As per data sourced from Worldpanel by Kantar, the bottled soft drinks segment registered a penetration of 44.1 per cent in the March-May period this year, the highest in-home penetration that the category has ever achieved.
“There is a huge opportunity to grow the household penetration for beverages in both urban and rural regions. For us, nearly half of the growth is coming from rural regions,” Bhandari added.
Published on October 9, 2026
