PepsiCo inaugurates new snacks plant in Dammam, KSA

PepsiCo demonstrated its commitment to the Middle East with the inauguration of its newest manufacturing facility, an all-new snacks plant in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. This is the company’s 15th facility in the Middle East.

The Dammam plant covers 592,015 sqft and will employ 300 staff, including 40 women. It will supply the snack market across Saudi Arabia while further enhancing the companies’ ability to provide consumers throughout the Middle East with a range of food choices including local innovations such as Lays Forno. The new facility is the latest addition to PepsiCo’s growing network of energy-efficient buildings around the world. The plant was built in accordance with criteria set by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), the world’s leading green building standard, and is expected to reduce PepsiCo’s environmental footprint by minimising waste and maximising energy efficiency.

Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo chairman and CEO inaugurated the plant. Nooyi was accompanied by HE Dr Tawfig Alrabiah, minister of commerce and industry; HE Eng Abdullatif Al-Othman, governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA); and Eng. Saleh Al Rasheed, director general of the Saudi industrial property authority (Modon) at the opening of the state-of-the-art facility.

“The Middle East is a dynamic food and beverage market and a critical engine of growth for PepsiCo. Over the years, PepsiCo and Saudi Arabia have prospered together and the investment in this plant is testament to our belief in PepsiCo’s bright future in this country and the wider region. The plant will be a critical hub for our company, bringing some of PepsiCo’s best-loved snacks and newest innovations to Saudi Arabia and markets throughout the region,” comments Nooyi.

The Middle East is a key component of PepsiCo’s overall plan to drive growth in developing and emerging markets globally. Developing and emerging markets accounted for 35% of PepsiCo’s net revenue in 2013. The opening of the Dammam plant follows two months after PepsiCo opened an innovation centre in Dubai’s Dubiotech, its first facility in the Middle East. The facility will serve as a hub of new products and flavors innovations for PepsiCo’s businesses across the region.