PepsiCo and Tata Consumer Products (TCP) have entered a strategic collaboration to develop and sell packaged snacks, aiming to strengthen their presence in India’s fiercely competitive snacks market. This partnership integrates PepsiCo’s Kurkure brand with Tata Consumer’s Ching’s Secret and comes as the Indian snacks sector is projected to double in size, reaching ₹95,521.8 crore by 2032.
The partnership is not a joint venture like their previous collaboration in beverages under NourishCo, which ended in 2020. Instead, it represents a focused effort to capitalize on the growing demand for fusion flavors and innovative snack offerings.
Aastha Bhasin, Marketing Director for Kurkure and Doritos at PepsiCo India, described the partnership as“milestone collaboration,” emphasizing the popularity of fusion flavors in the Indian market. An industry executive suggested that depending on consumer response, the partnership could expand to include other products from both companies’ portfolios.
PepsiCo’s ₹1,000-crore Kurkure brand leads its snacks portfolio, which also includes Lay’s chips and Doritos nachos. Tata Consumer Products, which acquired Ching’s Secret maker Capital Foods for ₹5,100 crore in 2024, adds noodles, condiments, and ethnic flavors to the mix.
The partnership comes as India’s ethnic packaged snacks market grows at over 20% annually, driven by regional and direct-to-consumer (D2C) players. The organized snacks market, currently valued at ₹42,695 crore, includes major competitors like ITC, Parle Products, Haldiram’s, Bikaji Foods, Balaji Snacks, and Prataap Snacks. Regional players, leveraging competitive pricing and higher retailer margins, have intensified competition.
While the collaboration has potential, industry insiders warn of challenges in aligning brand synergies and predicting consumer preferences. “Food brand collaborations are promising but tricky,” said an industry executive.
Simultaneously, PepsiCo’s global headquarters has reportedly initiated exploratory talks to acquire a minority stake in Haldiram Snacks Food, India’s largest ethnic snacks company, with FY24 revenues of ₹12,800 crore. However, these discussions are preliminary and may not result in a formal deal.
This collaboration underscores the shifting dynamics in India’s snacks market as global and domestic players compete to cater to evolving consumer tastes in one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing packaged foods markets.