31 July, 2008 - PepsiCo is working with Indian farmers in several regions to grow oats so that the company can use home-grown produce to manufacture breakfast cereal Quaker Oats for the domestic market, sources report.
The company has made the move after being encouraged by demand for the oat-cased cereal after it was launched last year. A present, PepsiCo is forced to import the oats, which is pushing up its costs.
The food giant revealed it is working with potential producers in the Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and Rajasthan.
A PepsiCo executive said: “Currently we are importing Quaker Oats from Australia to India and carrying out the packaging in the plant located in Pune. We started selling Quaker here last year and driven by the response we thought of manufacturing the brand from here. The process is on to evaluate the feasibility of producing oats here to meet the market demand.
“Once the seeds are tested successfully, varieties listed, and the processing details worked out, the company would start growing oats in India."