Brands
Varun Beverages to buy Kenya drinks business for $32 million
PepsiCo bottler expands East Africa footprint with Rs 305 crore acquisition
NEW DELHI: The next growth story for Varun Beverages isn’t just being bottled, it’s crossing borders. Varun Beverages Ltd. (VBL), PepsiCo’s largest bottling partner outside the United States, has agreed to acquire the value-added dairy beverages, juices and packaged drinking water business of Devyani Food Industries (Kenya) Ltd. (DFIL Kenya) for $32 million (around Rs 305 crore), further strengthening its footprint in Africa.
In a regulatory filing, the company said the acquisition will be executed through its wholly owned subsidiary, VBL Industries (Kenya) Ltd., with the transaction expected to be completed on 1 August 2026.
The deal is aimed at strengthening VBL’s position in Kenya while expanding its reach across the wider East African market by leveraging DFIL Kenya’s manufacturing capabilities and established distribution network.
As part of the acquisition, Varun Beverages will take ownership of DFIL Kenya’s manufacturing facility in Nakuru. The plant is located on a 52-acre site, with a built-up area of approximately 17,500 square metres, and sits along a national highway, providing logistical advantages for supplying products across the region.
The acquisition comes close on the heels of VBL’s announcement that it would enter the South African market through the acquisition of Twizza via The Beverage Company Proprietary Limited (BevCo). Twizza manufactures and distributes branded non-alcoholic beverages, while BevCo produces and markets both PepsiCo products and its own beverage portfolio in South Africa.
The back-to-back transactions underline Varun Beverages’ aggressive international expansion strategy as it seeks to strengthen manufacturing capacity and distribution infrastructure across Africa, a region increasingly viewed as a long-term growth engine for the company.
With demand for packaged beverages rising across emerging markets, VBL is steadily building a broader African network that extends beyond carbonated drinks into value-added dairy beverages, juices and bottled water. The latest acquisition reinforces the company’s strategy of pairing production assets with stronger route-to-market capabilities to accelerate regional growth.
