Pepsi PH bottling capacity up 30% via new plant in Batangas

Beverage-maker Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines Inc. (PCPPI) has expanded its bottling capacity, adopted digital platforms and accelerated sustainability initiatives amid a challenging environment caused by the prolonged pandemic.

“PCPPI did not only adapt to but also thrived in the new normal. When most companies feared to move forward, PCPPI chose to make big moves and transform,” company president and CEO Frederick Ong said during PCCPI’s recent stockholders’ meeting.

PCPPI, the exclusive manufacturer of PepsiCo products in the Philippines, opened a new polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle production line in Santo Tomas, Batangas, expanding its bottling capacity by 30 percent.

Digital infrastructure

The company also improved its digital infrastructure by completing its enterprise management system, integrating eight core business procedures, 18 business units and more than 100 locations into a single platform, Ong said.

An online selling platform was likewise rolled out in order to reach more household consumers and potential distributors.

“[Digitalization] has already become a standard requirement for businesses to thrive, especially in this time when we are physically distanced from one another. PCPPI will continue with its digital transformation to further position itself to meet customer demands faster and easier,” Ong said.

On the products side, Ong reported that Gatorade maintained its leadership while another energy drink brand, Sting, grew its share. He also reported the successful launch of new carbonated drink variants Mountain Dew Ice and Pepsi Go late last year and early this year, respectively.

All these efforts have created new opportunities for PCPPI, which bagged 10 new corporate accounts despite many food businesses and restaurants scaling down in 2020, Ong said.

On the expenditure side, the company was able to improve line productivity and efficiency to curb fixed costs, he reported.

The pandemic has likewise driven PCPPI to improve its sustainability practices.

PCPPI has reduced its water and energy consumption, “making sure that we only take enough resources to sustain our operations,” Ong said. PCPPI also reused and recycled as much as 26 million gallons of water in 2020.

The company also started its shift to renewable energy by installing solar panels at its Batangas, Cebu and Davao plants.

To address its plastic footprint, PCPPI introduced packaging innovations and material lightweighting to reduce its virgin plastic use by as much as 76 metric tons. —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA