In a bid to strengthen availability of its snack brands at a time when the country is grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic, PepsiCo India has entered into a distribution partnership with Swiggy to launch Lay’s and Kurkure e-stores on the app. Consumers can also order Quaker Oats through the app.

Currently, the partnership is in the pilot stage, and delivery of these brands is being done by Swiggy in Mumbai and Gurugram. This partnership will be expanded to enable the delivery of Lay’s, Kurkure and Quaker Oats products to consumers in over 20 cities in the coming days, according to sources.

Last-mile delivery

Leading FMCG companies are strengthening their presence on e-commerce channels and focusing on ways to deliver their products directly to consumers, as they are battling supply chain challenges due to the nationwide lockdown and consumers increasingly ordering online. Players like Swiggy have recently entered the grocery and essential products space.

Through such tie-ups, packaged food companies are hoping to leverage the food aggregators’ hyperlocal reach to ensure last-mile delivery of its snack brands to consumers during the lockdown. Swiggy’s delivery partners will directly picking up a consumer’s order from the local distributors of the brands.

New online shoppers

Sources said the company is expected to further step up focus on direct-to-consumer delivery space in the country, in line with its global strategy.

Earlier this week, in the US, PepsiCo Inc announced the launch of PantryShop.com and Snacks.com, two direct-to-consumer websites where shoppers can order an assortment of PepsiCo’s food and beverage brands.

According to a recent study on the retail sector by EY India, the structural shift towards online channels during the crisis will persist and continue in the long-term. It added that adoption of digital channels by new online shoppers, such as older consumers and rural consumers, will continue to accelerate.