The global food and beverage company PepsiCo is looking to expand its operations in Upper Egypt and the Delta to increase sales, according to General Manager of the Pepsico North East Africa and Egypt Business Unit Ahmed El Sheikh. He added that the Egyptian market is promising, despite what it has dealt with during the last three years. According to the chairman of the company, PepsiCo has invested $200m in Egypt during the last two years, despite the volatile political conditions, which "reflects the company's confidence in the Egyptian economy". El Sheikh refused to disclose the size of the company's future investments, but said: "We will increase production lines given the company's $200m investment in difficult circumstances. We will expand with stability." He stated that the company has 51% of the market share of carbonated beverages in Egypt and the same percentage for savory snacks. At the beginning of this year, PepsiCo launched the "Survival of the Tastiest" advertising campaign. According to El Sheikh, this "campaign has a targeted plan to increase sales". The employs about 20,000 workers in Egypt, and according to El Sheikh, there will be an expected rise in employment with the company's expansion in the two regions. El Sheikh also stated that Egypt is the largest of the 10 markets in which the company is located, which has prompted PepsiCo to increase the fleet of delivery trucks by 10% to 15% to work on the 3,000 production lines located throughout various regions in Egypt. According to El Sheikh, the Egyptian government's decision to cut energy subsidies will affect the company's sales in the short term, but will prove beneficial for the company and the Egyptian economy in the long run. He said that Egypt is suffering from "a lack of drive", which has encouraged PepsiCo to find ways to develop the local communities in Egypt. The company intends to light three villages with new energy developed through waste recycling. According to El Sheikh, PepsiCo will coordinate with the Ministry of Local Development in order to support local community development. PepsiCo has donated EGP 1.5m to the Misr El Kheir Foundation, and plans to provide Iftar to 130,000 Egyptians who are fasting for the month of Ramadan, according to the Director General of the company.
