Over 1,500 indirect job opportunities have been created and more than 5,000 Indian growers will be able to deliver about 150,000 tons of potatoes to a newly commissioned USD 110.5m (Rs 814 crore) PepsiCo potato chip-making unit in Kosi Kalan, Mathura, India, spanning almost 12 hectares.

The giant company’s investment comes also with a state-of-the-art cold storage warehouse for an improved supply chain, the storage technology that will increase the shelf life of potatoes substantially.

Being present at the commission, Uttar Pradesh (UP) chief minister, Yogi Adityanath, noted that PepsiCo plant is an example of a partnership between the state and the private sector investor for the welfare of farmers.

“The state government framed the policies, while the private investor has taken it further by setting up the plant. This will ultimately benefit the state farmers and they will get lucrative prices for their farm produce,” Adityanath underlined, cited by Business Standard.

According to PepsiCo, the Mathura unit marked the company’s largest greenfield investment in manufacturing in India. It is the company’s first ‘Make and Move’ factory, which will produce Lay’s potato chips brand.

“The state-of-the-art plant aligns with the UP government’s industrialization-led growth agenda,” according to the company’s press release.

PepsiCo CEO, Africa, Middle East, and South Asia, Eugene Willemsen added that India continues to be a strategic market and an engine of growth for PepsiCo in Africa, the Middle East, and the South Asia (AMESA) region.

“The plant will implement the best of what PepsiCo has to offer globally in terms of technology, sustainability & diversity, and will contribute to the State’s overall development through employment opportunities and strong Agri-linkages,” he concluded.