US drinks and foodstuffs giant PepsiCo (Purchase, New York / USA; www.pepsico.com) recently opened its largest food and beverage innovation centre outside North America. Located in Shanghai / China, the facility will serve “as a hub of new product, packaging and equipment innovation for PepsiCo’s businesses throughout Asia.” The US company said the facility is one of its largest integrated food and beverage R&D centres in the world. Investment costs were not disclosed.

Aside from a culinary centre and test kitchens, the new facility will also include a pilot manufacturing plant where researchers can test new ideas aimed at accelerating PepsiCo’s innovations in China and the greater Asia region. In fact, both China and Asia Pacific in general are key components of the group’s plan to drive growth in emerging and developing markets.

Other steps PepsiCo has undertaken as part of this strategy this year include new beverage manufacturing plants in Kunming and Zhengzhou / China as part of its strategic alliance with Tingyi (www.mastercom.cn). In neighbouring Myanmar, the US group also this year signed a distribution agreement with consumer packaging goods distributor Diamond Star (Yangon; www.cdsg.com.mm).