PepsiCo India appoints Saakshi Verma Menon as marketing director for foods business

New Delhi: PepsiCo India has appointed Saakshi Verma Menon as chief marketing officer for foods, replacing Anshul Khanna, who is moving to another role in the food and beverage company.

Menon, a member of the India leadership team, will be responsible for leading the foods marketing agenda, driving strategic brand growth.

“Super pumped to work on some of the most iconic and beloved brands from the house of PepsiCo—Lay’s, Kurkure, Uncle Chipps, Quaker, Cheetos, and Doritos," Menon said in a post on LinkedIn on Wednesday morning. "These brands have been part of everyday moments for millions, and I’m excited to shape the next chapter of their journey.”

Menon joins the India team from PepsiCo’s AMESA region team, where she played a role in shaping the marketing strategy and led cross-market collaborations to build campaigns across flagship brands Pepsi, 7Up, and Dew.

With over two decades of diverse marketing roles, Menon has worked across companies such as Colgate-Palmolive, Uber and Kimberly-Clark.

PepsiCo India reported revenue of ₹8,877 crore and profit after tax of ₹883.4 crore in the year 31 December 2024. The results largely reflect sales from its packaged foods business as well as the liquid concentrate sold to its bottling partner. The company’s snacks business was well over ₹6,800 crore.

New plants

In India, PepsiCo competes with Coca-Cola, ITC, Bikaji and Haldiram's. Its bottling operations are managed by local partner Varun Beverages.

Last year, PepsiCo India announced an investment of ₹1,266 crore to establish a flavor manufacturing facility in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. The facility is set to begin operations in the first quarter of 2026. The company is also set to open a new plant in Tamil Nadu.

India's packaged foods market is estimated at ₹3.6 trillion, and the market for carbonated soft drinks generated $18.25 billion of revenue in 2022, according to estimates by economic think tank ICRIER.