PepsiCo India describes itself as an "agri-company at heart," and over more than three decades in the country it has built a business that reaches well beyond factory gates, into farm fields, rural supply chains and community programmes. The company's own materials, framed under a philosophy it calls "Partnership of Progress," describe a growing network of farmers who supply crops such as potatoes and rice for its snacks and beverage brands.
A specific claim attached to this article's brief describes PepsiCo India marking "25 years" in the country while supporting "more than 36,000 farmers across 14 states." Before presenting that framing as fact, it is worth being direct about what independent research turned up: those two figures, as paired together, could not be verified from a dated, primary PepsiCo India source available during this review. What could be verified is a longer and somewhat different history, which this article lays out in full, along with the most recent figures the company has publicly disclosed and attributed. Readers should treat the "25 years" and "36,000 farmers" figures as unconfirmed pending a specific, dated company statement, and rely on the verified figures and dates presented below.
From Manufacturing to a Broader Agricultural Network
PepsiCo entered the Indian market in 1989. Multiple company statements over the years, including remarks from PepsiCo India executives reported by business media, describe the company's India journey as beginning in Punjab, where it first built relationships with potato farmers to supply its snack food business. A statement attributed to Ahmed ElSheikh, then President and CEO of PepsiCo India, published around a Punjab facility investment reported in January 2026, described the company's presence in the state as starting "over 30 years ago," which is consistent with a founding date in 1989. Separately, a 2019 report on a new snack manufacturing investment in Uttar Pradesh described PepsiCo India as "celebrating its 30th anniversary," again pointing to 1989 as the starting point. Taken together, verified public statements consistently place PepsiCo India's origin in the country at 1989, which would make 2026 approximately the company's 37th year of operations in India, not its 25th.
It is possible that a "25-year" reference relates to a narrower milestone, such as a specific manufacturing facility, a particular state's operations, or a specific farmer-support programme that launched later than the company's initial 1989 entry. However, no primary source located during this research specifically ties a "25-year" anniversary to the 36,000-farmer, 14-state figure cited in this article's brief. This article proceeds using the verified 1989 entry date and treats any more specific "25-year" claim as unconfirmed.
What is well documented is how PepsiCo India's operations expanded from an initial manufacturing footprint into a wider agricultural sourcing network. The company's foods business, built around potato chip brands including Lay's and Uncle Chipps, created a direct commercial incentive to secure a stable, quality supply of process-grade potatoes. Rather than relying solely on open-market purchases, PepsiCo India developed a model of contracting directly with farmers, providing inputs and technical support in exchange for assured crop purchases. Over time, this same collaborative farming approach extended to other crops, including rice, corn and citrus, and expanded geographically across additional Indian states.
PepsiCo India's "Partnership of Progress"
"Partnership of Progress" is PepsiCo India's own name for the broad philosophy underpinning its farmer, sustainability and community initiatives. The company used this framing publicly at World Food India 2025, a government-linked industry event, where PepsiCo India's Chief Corporate Affairs Officer and Sustainability Head, Yashika Singh, described it as the guiding approach behind the company's work in regenerative agriculture, water stewardship and skilling programmes. According to the company's statement at that event, Partnership of Progress is meant to convey collaboration among farmers, women entrepreneurs and community partners toward a more resilient food and beverage supply chain, rather than a single formally structured scheme with fixed enrollment criteria.
Within this broader philosophy, PepsiCo India has pointed to specific programme elements it says are in place. These include Mitti Jaanch Kendras, described by the company as community-run soil testing centres intended to help farmers improve yields and soil health, and continued investment in what the company calls regenerative farming practices. The company has also highlighted RevolutioNari, a skilling and entrepreneurship programme aimed at women, as part of the same broader initiative, though RevolutioNari itself is a workforce and livelihoods programme rather than a farmer-support scheme specifically.
It is important to state plainly that these are the company's own characterizations of its programmes. Independent, third-party verification of the operational details, reach or measured outcomes of Mitti Jaanch Kendras or the wider regenerative agriculture push was not available in the sources reviewed for this article.
Farmer Numbers: What Has Actually Been Verified
Because the specific "36,000 farmers across 14 states" figure could not be confirmed from a dated primary source, it is more useful to lay out the verified trajectory of PepsiCo India's publicly disclosed farmer numbers over time, since that trajectory shows both real growth and the danger of treating any single cited figure as fixed or current without a date attached.
In the early 2010s, PepsiCo India executives quoted in Indian business media described the company working with over 22,000 to 24,000 farmers, typically across seven to eleven states, depending on the year and the specific spokesperson. By around 2018, a PepsiCo global sustainable agriculture executive, Christine Daugherty, told Indian media that the company worked with approximately 24,000 growers across 14 states, and separately stated the company's farmer association went back 28 years at that point, which would place its origin closer to 1990, again broadly consistent with the 1989 entry date. A 2019 industry report describing a new Uttar Pradesh facility similarly referenced PepsiCo India's "Agri" programme as working with 24,000 farmers across 14 states.
More recently, in November 2025, at the second edition of PepsiCo India's Voices of Harvest awards event, held in partnership with NDTV, the company's CEO for India and South Asia, Jagrut Kotecha, stated that PepsiCo India had "over 27,000 farmers as our partners." This is the most recent dated, on-the-record figure identified in this research, and it is notably lower than the 36,000 figure referenced in this article's brief. It is possible that PepsiCo India has since announced an updated, larger figure in a release from later in 2025 or in 2026 that was not captured in the sources available for this review, and if such a statement exists, the 36,000 figure should be attributed to it directly with its date, rather than presented without a source.
Whatever the current precise total, several qualifications matter for interpreting any PepsiCo India farmer count. First, the figure typically refers to farmers under contract or collaborative farming arrangements, primarily for potatoes, rice and related crops, not to a headcount of formal employees. Second, PepsiCo India's own past statements describe differentiated types of support, meaning that not every farmer in the network necessarily receives an identical package of inputs, credit access or training. Third, historical statements from company executives suggest that state coverage has fluctuated over time, from seven states in earlier company materials to 14 in later ones, which indicates the network has both grown and periodically been redefined in how it is reported.
Technology and Sustainable Agriculture
PepsiCo India has publicly described several sustainability-linked agricultural initiatives over the years, and some can be cross-referenced across multiple sources with consistent details, lending them more confidence than single-source claims.
The company has repeatedly cited its use of Direct Seeding of Rice, a cultivation method that avoids the traditional practice of flooding fields and transplanting rice seedlings by hand. According to a 2018 statement from PepsiCo's global sustainable agriculture team, the technique helped save an estimated 16.73 billion litres of water across six states, including Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, in 2017, with growers reportedly achieving around 30 percent water savings in paddy cultivation that year. The same statement described potato growers in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh using drip irrigation systems to cut water consumption by roughly 20 percent. These figures are company-reported and tied to a specific year and set of states; they should not be read as an ongoing or company-wide guarantee.
PepsiCo India's careers and recruitment materials have separately cited a company claim of 12.75 billion litres of water conserved in 2015 through irrigation technology, water recharging and other practices, framed under the company's broader "water positive" ambitions, alongside a claimed 74 percent reduction in nonrenewable energy use tied to a shift toward biomass fuel and wind power in its operations. These figures, too, are company-published and specific to stated years rather than independently audited outcomes confirmed in this research.
Communities and Local Development
PepsiCo India's public statements connect its farmer and sustainability programmes to a broader claim of community impact. At the Voices of Harvest 2025 event, government officials, including India's Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, appeared as guests and linked the broader goal of strengthening farmer incomes and productivity to national food security priorities. This indicates a degree of engagement between PepsiCo India's farmer programmes and government agricultural priorities, though the specific nature of any formal partnership, funding arrangement or joint initiative between PepsiCo India and government bodies was not detailed in the sources reviewed.
The RevolutioNari programme, which PepsiCo India describes as equipping women with skills, employment and entrepreneurial opportunities, was highlighted again at World Food India 2025 as part of the Partnership of Progress framing. As with the agricultural claims, the scale, reach and measured outcomes of RevolutioNari were not independently verified in this research and should be understood as the company's own description of the programme.
Employees and Business Partners
PepsiCo India has, in past company materials, described itself as one of the largest US multinational investors in the country, citing an investment figure exceeding $1 billion and direct and indirect employment supporting over 150,000 people, according to older company-published material. More recent figures for current direct employment, franchisee-linked employment or supplier and distributor counts were not identified in the sources reviewed for this article, and no current total should be assumed from that older figure without a more recent, dated confirmation.
On the manufacturing and partner side, PepsiCo India's beverage business in the country relies heavily on Varun Beverages, described in industry reporting as one of PepsiCo's largest franchise bottlers globally outside the United States, handling manufacturing and distribution across a large share of PepsiCo's beverage volumes in India. In January 2026, Varun Beverages opened a new Rs 550 crore production facility in Pathankot, Punjab, described as a fully backward-integrated site for products including Tropicana, Gatorade, Lipton Ice Tea and Aquafina, illustrating the kind of partner-driven capacity expansion that supports PepsiCo India's broader ecosystem beyond its own directly owned plants.
What Has Changed Over the Years: A Verified Timeline
Based on sources with specific dates, PepsiCo India's documented milestones include: entry into the Indian market in 1989, with its first agricultural relationships built around Punjab's potato farmers; a farmer network cited at over 22,000 farmers across seven states in older company materials; growth to roughly 24,000 farmers across nine to eleven states by the early-to-mid 2010s, according to PepsiCo India executives quoted at the time; a company statement in 2018 describing 24,000 growers across 14 states and specific water-saving results from Direct Seeding of Rice and drip irrigation that year; a 30th-anniversary framing in 2019 tied to new investment in Uttar Pradesh; continued facility investment through the early 2020s, including a 2022 expansion in Kosi Kalan, Uttar Pradesh, and a 2023 food manufacturing investment in Assam; a 2024 announcement of a second flavour manufacturing facility in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, alongside the company's existing flavour plant in Channo, Punjab; a January 2026 statement describing the company's Punjab presence as beginning "over 30 years ago"; and, in November 2025, a CEO statement citing over 27,000 farmer partners at the Voices of Harvest 2025 event, held under the Partnership of Progress philosophy.
Why the Farmer Network Matters
Independent of the specific figures in dispute, the underlying dynamic PepsiCo India describes reflects a real feature of India's food and beverage supply chains. Large processors that need consistent volumes and quality of raw agricultural inputs, such as process-grade potatoes for snack production, generally cannot rely solely on open agricultural markets, where quality, timing and price can be unpredictable. Contracted or collaborative farming arrangements, of the kind PepsiCo India describes, are a common mechanism across the food processing industry globally for aligning farmer output with a specific buyer's needs, in exchange for some combination of price certainty, technical support or input access for the farmer.
This kind of arrangement can support supply chain resilience for the company and, when implemented as described, can offer farmers more predictable income and access to inputs or credit they might not otherwise secure. At the same time, this analysis should not be read as an endorsement of PepsiCo India's programme's overall success or fairness; contract farming arrangements globally vary widely in how equitably they distribute risk and benefit between company and farmer, and assessing that balance for PepsiCo India specifically would require independent research beyond company statements, which was outside the scope of the sources available here.
What Comes Next
PepsiCo India's most concrete, officially confirmed near-term plans relate to manufacturing capacity rather than farmer network expansion specifically. The company's second flavour manufacturing facility in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, announced in April 2024 with an investment of Rs 1,266 crore, was slated to begin operations in the first quarter of 2026. That facility was described by the company as designed to run entirely on renewable energy and to achieve significant water-use efficiency through zero liquid discharge technology, according to PepsiCo India's own announcement. No independently verified operational status update for that facility, confirming whether it began production as planned, was found in the sources reviewed for this article.
Beyond that, PepsiCo India's public statements around Partnership of Progress suggest continued emphasis on regenerative agriculture, water stewardship and women's skilling as ongoing priorities, but the sources reviewed did not include a specific, dated announcement of new farmer-network targets, additional states, or expanded sustainability commitments for the years ahead. Any forward-looking figures attributed to the company beyond what is documented here should be treated as unconfirmed.
Conclusion
PepsiCo India has built, over more than three and a half decades since entering the market in 1989, a business that extends well beyond its own manufacturing plants into a wider network of contracted farmers, franchise bottling partners and community-facing programmes it groups under the banner of Partnership of Progress. Verified, dated company statements show that network growing from roughly 22,000 farmers across seven states in earlier years to over 27,000 farmers as of November 2025, according to the company's own CEO. The specific claim of "36,000 farmers across 14 states" tied to a "25-year" milestone could not be independently verified from the sources available for this research and should not be treated as confirmed without a specific, dated PepsiCo India statement to support it. PepsiCo India describes its own evolution as a shift from a manufacturing entrant into what it calls an agri-company at heart, built through, in the company's words, standing "alongside farmers, women changemakers, and community partners to co-create a resilient food and beverage ecosystem for the country."
Key Facts Verified
- 25-year timeline: Not independently confirmed. Verified company statements place PepsiCo India's market entry at 1989, making 2026 approximately its 37th year, not its 25th.
- More than 36,000 farmers: Not independently verified from a dated primary source. The most recent confirmed figure is over 27,000 farmers, stated in November 2025.
- 14 states: Confirmed in earlier company statements (2018 and 2019), though the state count has varied across different years and spokespeople, ranging from seven to 14.
- Partnership of Progress: Confirmed as PepsiCo India's official name for its farmer, sustainability and community philosophy, used publicly at World Food India 2025.
- Agricultural programmes: Confirmed elements include collaborative/contract farming for potatoes and other crops, Direct Seeding of Rice, drip irrigation and, more recently, Mitti Jaanch Kendras soil testing centres, all according to company statements.
- Sustainability initiatives: Company-reported water-saving figures tied to specific years (2015, 2017) were identified; these are attributed claims, not independently audited results.
- Community initiatives: RevolutioNari women's skilling programme and Voices of Harvest farmer recognition event confirmed as active company initiatives as of 2025.
- Employee/partner information: Older company materials cite over 150,000 in direct and indirect employment and over $1 billion in investment; a current figure was not identified. Varun Beverages confirmed as a major franchise bottling partner, with a new Rs 550 crore Punjab facility opened in January 2026.
- Future commitments: The Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh flavour facility, announced in 2024, was slated for first-quarter 2026 operation; no independently confirmed operational status update was found.
Further reading and useful links
Reader questions
Frequently asked questions
How long has PepsiCo India been operating in India?
PepsiCo entered the Indian market in 1989, according to multiple company statements over the years, including a January 2026 reference to its Punjab operations beginning "over 30 years ago." This would place the company's operations in India at approximately 37 years as of 2026, not 25 years.
How many farmers does PepsiCo India support?
The most recent dated, on-the-record figure identified is over 27,000 farmer partners, stated by PepsiCo India CEO Jagrut Kotecha in November 2025. A figure of 36,000 farmers could not be independently verified from a dated source in this research.
Which states are included in PepsiCo India's farmer network?
Company statements over the years have cited varying numbers of states, ranging from seven in early materials to 14 in a 2018 statement and again in a 2019 report. A current, dated list of 14 states tied specifically to a 36,000-farmer figure was not confirmed.
What is PepsiCo India's Partnership of Progress?
It is the company's own name for its broader philosophy connecting farmer partnerships, sustainability initiatives such as regenerative agriculture and water stewardship, and community and women's skilling programmes like RevolutioNari, as described by PepsiCo India executives at events including World Food India 2025.
What support does PepsiCo provide to farmers?
According to company statements over the years, support has included quality seeds, technical extension services, disease control packages, assured buy-back pricing, access to bank loans and weather insurance, and, more recently, community-run soil testing centres and training in regenerative farming practices. Not all farmers in the network necessarily receive an identical package of support.
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