Reduced Salt And Sustainable Packaging By 2025: PepsiCo

Following several new regulations to the packaged food industry by the FSSAI and major brands pledging to healthier food products, PepsiCo India on Wednesday has said that it will reduce salt content in 75 per cent of its snack products by 2025 as part of their strategy towards offering healthier food.

Apart from the reduced salt content, PepsiCo has also said that as part of its sustainable packaging solutions it will pilot 100 percent compostable, plant-based packaging for Lay’s and Kurkure, their most popular snack brands in India. This change in packaging will be initiated from this year onwards.

Salt reduced by 5 percent

“We have reduced 5 per cent to 25 per cent sodium across popular variants of our snacks flagship brands, Lay’s and Kurkure and we further aim at reducing sodium in 75 per cent of our food’s portfolio by 2025,” said Jagrut Kotecha, Vice President, PepsiCo India – Snacks Category in one of their statements.

Economic Times reported PepsiCo India saying that it has already introduced upgraded variants of its Lay’s snacks with reduced sodium containing 13 percent to 215 percent lesser sodium. The reduced salt variants come in different flavors as well. The company’s other snack brands also include Lehar, Cheetos, and Uncle Chipps.

New technologies for sustainable packaging

Kotecha further said that the company is working to reduce the impact of its packaging on the environment and increase recycling of plastic waste, in line with PepsiCo’s ‘performance with purpose goals 2025’,

“The first step towards the actualization of this journey is the resizing of packaging of our brands Lay’s and Kurkure. This will significantly help us in reducing our carbon footprint,” he added.

The company was also reported to have said that it is working towards sustainable packaging solutions along with partners to support and leverage new technologies for the same.

“We will be piloting the first ever 100 percent compostable, plant-based packaging for our popular snacks products – Lay’s and Kurkure this year,” the company was reported as saying. It is to be noted that India will be among the first countries to pilot this packaging.

“We plan to launch the pilot for this new compostable packaging with Lay’s and Kurkure starting in Q4 of this year,” the company added.