A few years ago, most people hadn’t heard of Varun Beverages. Sure, you drank its products—Pepsi, 7UP, Mountain Dew, Tropicana—but you never saw the company. It didn’t make noise. It didn’t run campaigns. It didn’t trend on Twitter.
And yet, quietly, it was becoming one of India’s most efficient and ambitious FMCG players.
Fast forward to 2025, and the numbers are hard to ignore. In just one quarter, VBL sold over 312 million beverage cases, clocked ₹55,669 crore in revenue, and posted ₹7,314 crore in profit. That’s 30% volume growth and over 33% jump in profits—year on year. And this isn’t a post-COVID bounce. It’s consistent. Over the last five years, Varun Beverages has delivered a 41% CAGR in profits, built one of the deepest distribution networks in Asia, and emerged as PepsiCo’s largest franchise bottler outside the US.
But this story didn’t start with a billion-dollar deal. It started in Jaipur.
In the early 1990s, VBL was just another local bottler. It handled small volumes, operated regionally, and kept its head down. But by the late 90s, the company had begun expanding rapidly across Rajasthan. Alwar, Jodhpur, Kosi—plant after plant was added. The vision was clear. It didn’t want to just bottle beverages. It wanted to own the distribution, the backend, the execution—everything.
So while others focused on marketing muscle, VBL focused on infrastructure. Today, it operates 50 factories (38 in India, 12 overseas), runs over 10,000 logistics vehicles, has a million-plus visi-coolers in circulation, and reaches over 4 million retail outlets. In India, it covers 26 States and 6 Union Territories. Abroad, it operates in Morocco, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and more.
This isn’t just wide—it’s deep. VBL doesn’t just distribute Pepsi and 7UP. It manufactures them. It handles warehousing. It manages inventory. It monitors last-mile delivery and cold-chain reliability. It even manages over 2,000 EVs in its delivery fleet. It has taken PepsiCo’s brand equity and built a high-efficiency, India-first distribution engine around it.
And now, it’s not stopping at beverages.
In markets like Morocco and Zambia, VBL has begun distributing snacks—Lays, Doritos, and Cheetos—leveraging its existing network to push PepsiCo’s food business. It’s also doubling down on health-conscious consumers. No- and low-sugar drinks now account for nearly 60% of volume sales. And with consumer preferences shifting fast, this early pivot could be a long-term margin driver.
If you think that’s all, think again. In 2024 and 2025, the company commissioned new plants in Kangra and Prayagraj. New facilities in Bihar and Meghalaya are on the way. And in a bid to cut production costs and reduce import reliance, it’s now pushing backward integration—from bottle preforms to in-house syrup manufacturing. This isn’t a company betting on demand. It’s a company preparing to meet it, faster and cheaper than anyone else.
And all this, while staying sustainable.
While competitors make loud ESG claims, VBL’s actions speak quietly. Water usage per litre of beverage is down to 1.56 litres, with a target of 1.4 by 2025. Plastic recycling is at 88%. Renewable energy use is scaling. And net-zero goals have already been set for 2050.
But despite all this, VBL still doesn’t get the kind of attention other consumer giants do. Maybe because it doesn’t sell direct. Maybe because it doesn’t advertise on primetime TV. Maybe because the brand everyone sees is Pepsi—but the engine behind it is VBL.
And that’s exactly the point.
While others chase brand love, Varun Beverages has built operational love—earning PepsiCo’s trust, investor confidence, and retailer loyalty. It doesn’t want to be seen. It wants to be everywhere.
The stock reflects that steady conviction. Not flashy. But delivering. Not speculative. But consistent. And with room to grow, both in India and across frontier markets, the company may just be getting started.
Because in a world obsessed with visibility, Varun Beverages has shown that execution is still the best strategy. It doesn’t need to trend. It just needs to deliver cold, fizzy results. Every single day.
