PepsiCo, the American snacks and beverages giant, has revealed plans for the expansion of its snack production facility located in the Brazilian town of Cabo de Santo Agostinho.

The company that owns the Lay’s and Walkers crisps brands will be implementing a new production line at the facility, where it currently manufactures Cheetos and Cebolitos snacks for the local market.

This new production line will enable the company to expand its operations by manufacturing its Torcida brand of snacks at the site in the Pernambuco region, situated close to the city of Recife.

PepsiCo has not disclosed the exact amount it will invest in the development of the facility, but this expansion project, involving two factories, is expected to boost production capacity by approximately 30%.

Having been active in Brazil for seven decades, the company has stated that the expansion will lead to the creation of around 300 new jobs, both directly and indirectly.

Construction of the plant is currently underway and is anticipated to be completed by May 2024.

Marcelo Zanetti, director of operations of PepsiCo Brazil, said, “The north-east region is strategic for PepsiCo and we have continuously invested in it. Proof of this is that our production capacity in the last four years has increased by more than 50%.”

PepsiCo, with a total of eight factories in Brazil, has a workforce of approximately 700 individuals in the Pernambuco region.

In August of last year, PepsiCo reached an agreement to divest a selection of its biscuit assets in Brazil to the local manufacturer Camil Alimentos.

Camil successfully negotiated an acquisition deal for PepsiCo’s CIPA Industrial Food Products and CIPA Nordeste Industrial de Produtos Alimentares, thereby gaining control of factories in Aparecida de Goiânia in the state of Goiás and Itaporanga D’Ajuda in Sergipe, along with the combined workforce of approximately 800 employees from these two companies.