Varun Beverages' Africa push goes beyond soft drinks

Varun Beverages is making some interesting moves in South Africa, and it’s clearly not stopping at soft drinks anymore.

So, what’s happening: the company’s arm has picked up a 100% stake in Crickley Dairy Proprietary, a privately owned dairy business known for its quality milk products. Varun Beverages wants to grow beyond fizzy drinks and tap into areas like value-added dairy and juice-based beverages, segments that are seeing rising demand.

And this isn’t a one-off move.

In December, the company, PepsiCo’s largest franchise bottler, announced plans to fully acquire South Africa’s Twizza through BevCo. Even before that, in March 2024, it had acquired The Beverage Company (BevCo) and its subsidiaries. That deal helped strengthen its presence across South Africa, Lesotho, and Eswatini, while also giving it distribution access to markets like Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, and Madagascar.

Put it all together, and you can see the direction VBL is heading in. It’s steadily building a stronger, more diversified presence in Africa.

Market check: the company’s shares rose 2%. This comes after Varun Beverages stock had hit a 52-week low last week, following monthly losses in both January and February.