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PepsiCo India has reduced the salt levels in some variants of its flagship snacks brand Lay’s by 13-15 per cent, in line with its long-term global sustainability goals.
Earlier this year, the snacks and beverages major had launched Kurkure multigrain variant with 21 per cent lesser sodium. In the past, it has reformulated products such as Kurkure Masala Munch and Lay’s Classic Salted to cut back on sodium.
Recently, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) urged packaged food companies to voluntarily reduce salt, sugar and fat in their products before the new labelling regulations are implemented. As many as 15 companies have already made commitments to FSSAI’s Eat-Right Movement.
Jagrut Kotecha, Vice-President, Snacks Category, PepsiCo India, said: “We had been working on reformulating these products in collaboration with our R&D team and global flavour partners for the past 18 months. We have reduced salt by 13-15 per cent in two variants of Lay’s — Indian Magic Masala and Spanish Tomato Tango. These have been launched and are now available on the retail shelves.”
The company said the two variants account for a sizeable chunk of the brand’s overall sales in India. “Overall we have reduced 5-25 per cent sodium across popular variants of our snacks brands Lay’s and Kurkure and we further aim to reduce sodium levels in 75 per cent of our food portfolio by 2025,” Kotecha added.
PepsiCo India has posted mid-single digit revenue growth in the second quarter of this year. Kotecha said the company’s snacks business has been witnessing double-digit growth in India in terms of value and volumes for the past few quarters.
Sustainable packaging
Starting this month, the company has also resized the packaging of Lay’s and Kurkure in a bid to reduce paper and carton consumption.
“We are working with partners to leverage new technologies to look for sustainable packaging solutions. We will pilot the first ever 100 per cent compostable, plant-based packaging for our snacks products this year,” Kotecha added.
The pilot is expected to be launched in the Delhi region in the fourth quarter of this year.
The snacks and beverage major said it is working closely with various government agencies on collection, segregation and recycling of multi-layered packaging waste in India for effective plastic waste management.
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