PepsiCo’s £13m investment in Europe’s largest tortilla factory reduces environmental impact
Factory floor at Coventry site, the home of Doritos.
PepsiCo has reaffirmed its commitment to sustainable production with a £13 million investment in its Coventry factory to reduce the environmental impact of its manufacturing operations.
The upgrade will help PepsiCo improve efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions at Coventry by over 700 tonnes each year.
The investment has also funded an extensive upgrade of facilities for the site’s 700 staff as well as the replacement of a manufacturing line for Doritos to support demand for Britain’s No. 1 tortilla chip brand.
Coventry has been the home of Doritos since the brand launched in the UK in 1994. Over the past 30 years, Doritos has established itself as a popular snack brand with nearly a third of UK households buying Doritos and sales of £273 million (Doritos delivered £273,574,999 value sales based on NielsenIQ RMS data for Global Salty Snacks (client-defined) for the 52 w/e 22.06.24 for Great Britain Total Coverage retail market). Doritos’ popularity continues to grow with retail sales increasing more than 20% over the last two years (Doritos delivered 21.13% value growth vs 2YA based on NielsenIQ RMS data for Global Salty Snacks (client-defined) for the 52 w/e 22.06.24 for Great Britain Total Coverage retail market).
The new manufacturing line will continue to make the Doritos range in the UK, including Doritos Dippers which last year became the first Doritos product to classify as non-HFSS.
Work to install the line will start in August with upgrades at every stage of the production process, from corn washing and milling, to cutting, cooking and seasoning.
Away from the factory floor, the investment has funded an extensive upgrade to staff facilities on site, with work recently completed on renovated working spaces, new changing rooms, a brand-new training centre and fully refurbished on-site restaurant. The new training centre will increase upskilling opportunities at the site thanks to replica equipment offering team members the opportunity to develop skills off the factory floor.
Layla Whiting, manufacturing director, PepsiCo, noted how the business has been “perfecting” the tortilla chip in Coventry for the past three decades, and is proud of the role in helping to build a loyal Doritos fanbase and make the brand a household name in the UK.
“This investment marks our commitment to the teams who have played such a key role in Doritos’ success over the years, and to our home in Coventry as we celebrate our 30th birthday,” she added.
PepsiCo’s Coventry site is Europe’s largest tortilla chip factory and as well as being the home of Doritos in the UK, it is also the place where iconic British snacks including Wotsits, French Fries, Squares and Sunbites are made.
PepsiCo has continued to invest in its UK manufacturing sites, with total investment since 2020 now standing at over £140 million. The investment in Coventry, alongside last year’s £58 million investment in the Walkers manufacturing site in Leicester, reaffirms PepsiCo’s commitment to the Midlands region where it employs over 2,100 people across its Leicester, Coventry and Lincoln sites.
Work in Leicester to install a new manufacturing line, packaging equipment and upgrade on-site facilities is now complete, including a replacement oven that is powered by 100% renewable electricity cutting around 1,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually.
