PepsiCo India cooperated with its bottling partner, Varun Beverages, and Srichakra Polyplast, a recycling company to create recycled PET bottles (rPET) in India.
PepsiCo India released its Pepsi Black soft drink in 100% recycled PET bottles (rPET) as part of its PepsiCo Positive (PEP+) sustainable campaign. PepsiCo India aims to strengthen its green image by using recycled packaging. The debut also coincides with the Indian Government’s Swatch Bharath Mission to enhance cleanliness and solid waste management, as well as the increasingly harsh legislation in single-use plastics.
To create rPET bottles in India, the company cooperated with its bottling partner, Varun Beverages, and Srichakra Polyplast, a recycling company. Other domestic consumer brands like Dabur are moving towards recyclable packaging. Coca-Cola India debuted its water brand Kinley in 100% rPET bottles before PepsiCo.
On the announcement, George Kovoor, senior vice president of Beverages and Sustainability PepsiCo India, said, “We are encouraged by the measures taken by the Government to promote a circular economy in India. We are proud to launch the 100% rPET bottles of Pepsi Black. This is an important milestone in our sustainability journey, backed by our intent to create a positive value chain, and this launch is yet another step in that direction. We shall learn and evolve as we continue to build a robust ecosystem while expanding the use of recycled content in our packaging.”
With more food and beverage companies embracing recyclable packaging, demand for rPET bottles will significantly increase in India. As a result, GlobalData forecasts that PET bottle consumption in the Indian soft drinks sector will surge by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.4% over 2023–2027#.
On the other hand, PET bottles created from virgin plastic are less expensive than recycled plastics. Furthermore, current trash disposal and collection methods could be more effective, resulting in many discarded plastic bottles ending up in landfills and bodies of water. Efficient circular economies and constructing more plastic recycling plants are critical to ensuring that beverage packaging producers have an adequate supply of recycled PET at reasonable rates.
Because of the growing awareness of the environmental damage caused by plastic pollution, Indian customers are increasingly selecting firms that employ sustainable packaging. According to a recent GlobalData consumer survey, 43% of Indian customers consider recyclable packaging to be a must-have when completing a purchase.
^GlobalData Q1 2023 Consumer Survey—India, published in May 2023
# GlobalData Consumer Intelligence Center—Market Analyzers, accessed in July 2023
