Newsmaker

Introducing a woman's touch

By Ding Qingfen (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-06-21 10:01

Love for China

Since the financial crisis, which held back consumption of beverages and food in developed regions, emerging markets have turned out to be a new driving force for PepsiCo, and China is among the most important.

"Getting it right in China is a major priority for us. China is an extremely vibrant consumer market with decades of growth ahead of it. We understand that companies willing to invest in China, with China's goals in mind, can be extremely successful over the long term," she said.

The strategic importance of China aside, Nooyi regards the nation as attractive because of its strong culture and long history. She CEO loves drinking Cao Ben Le and adores Chinese songs, managing to sing some in the right tone and rhythm, including the classic, Jasmine.

In November 2008, PepsiCo announced a four-year investment of $1billion in China, the largest that the world's second-largest beverage and food company has ever made in the country over the past three decades. This May, the company said it will add another $2.5 billion to the world's most populous market over the next three years to build more plants and increase production lines, and enhance its research and development capability.

Nooyi said she was very happy to see that PepsiCo had gained great popularity in China, even a dominant position in some areas such as potato chips. "China's time has come and the next two decades are the golden years for China," she said.

"I do not see such strong business sensitivity and welcoming of business (that China shows) in most countries."

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The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development said China was still the most attractive market for foreign investors despite the slowing of its economic growth. Last year, the nation's foreign deposits index (FDI) dropped by just three percent while the figure was 40 percent down for the whole world. From January to April, the FDI grew by 11.3 percent.

As part of its commitment to the Performance with Purpose strategy, last year PepsiCo opened the very first food and beverage plant in China that complies with the rigorous sustainable engineering standards known as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

The new plant in Chongqing deploys more than 35 water and energy saving designs in order to use 22 percent less water and 23 percent less energy than the average PepsiCo plant in China. All the new plants in China in the future will copy the Chongqing model.

Nooyi said PepsiCo had a more ambitious goal: to decrease water use in China to net zero. "It sounds tough, and yes it is, but we recently succeeded in doing this in India and we are committed to making it in China as well," she said.

"We believe PepsiCo and PepsiCo China are on the right track. We are extremely proud of working for PepsiCo," said Cathy Tai, vice-president of Corporate Affairs with PepsiCo Greater China Regions.