PepsiCo India extends partnership with CSC, to list products in 3 more states on Grameen eStore

PepsiCo stated on Tuesday that it will expand its cooperation with the government-backed CSC's Grameen eStore platform and offer its products on it in three more states: Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Jharkhand. According to a joint release from PepsiCo and Common Service Centres, this will enable last-mile delivery of its snacking brands - Lay's, Kurkure, and Uncle Chipps - in rural India and stimulate entrepreneurship (CSC).

PepsiCo will also expand the availability of its snacking goods in rural areas of Uttar Pradesh, where the project was successfully launched, by listing in more districts, according to the company.

"PepsiCo India's snacking brands... will be listed on the CSC Grameen eStore across the hinterlands of Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Jharkhand, and will continue to be listed in more districts of Uttar Pradesh, following a successful pilot project in Uttar Pradesh. The products will be made available through 20,000 village level entrepreneurs (VLEs) and 489 distributor village level entrepreneurs (DVLEs)."

CSC Grameen eStore is a hyper-local e-commerce platform developed by CSC (under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology) to encourage rural residents to use digital ordering and delivery.

"PepsiCo India's relationship with CSC is aligned with the Government of India's vision of establishing AatmaNirbhar Bharat by creating rural employment and making rural India's digital inclusion a reality," it stated.

Using what they've learned, PepsiCo India has not only expanded the programme, but also given existing VLEs the option to convert to DVLEs. This will aid in the promotion of rural entrepreneurship by expanding the reach and earning potential of existing entrepreneurs.

"The extension of our partnership with PepsiCo India would undoubtedly be a milestone for CSC in ensuring last-mile delivery in the hinterlands of rural India while enhancing rural entrepreneurship, helping in the scaling of businesses and local employment," CSC SPV CEO Mr. Dinesh Kumar Tyagi said.

"We started our partnership with CSC Uttar Pradesh that has shown positive results and are delighted to take this partnership forward to three more states besides further expanding it in Uttar Pradesh." PepsiCo India Senior Director and Head of Sales Mr. Aditya Sinha said.

India is one of Pepsico's major markets, where it operates with brands such as Pepsi, Lay's, Kurkure, Tropicana 100%, Gatorade, and Quaker.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.