Pepsi Cola Products Philippines Inc. (PCPPI)—the exclusive manufacturer of PepsiCo beverages in the country—remains firm in growing its business this year amid the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Frederick D. Ong, PCPPI president and chief executive officer, said the company completed strong operational and sales innovations, indicating its commitment to meet the growing customer demand and support the local economy.

PCPPI recently opened its newest production line in Santo Tomas, Batangas, which will increase the production of carbonated soft drinks in highly-recyclable polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles. 

Ong said the new Southern Tagalog Regional Office (STRO) line is the fastest, most advanced facility yet, improving its PET production by 30 percent. 

The new facility is also expected to support continued job-opportunities in the area. PCPPI operates four lines in total in STRO, positioning itself to further push the economy’s recovery and to produce PepsiCo beverages that Filipinos have loved for more than 70 years. 

On top of this, PCPPI also rolled out its e-commerce platform pepsiproduct.ph in select areas to make its products more accessible to household consumers and to entrepreneurs who are into the distribution business. 

“We see this digital program as part of our efforts to promote safe and sustainable business practices in the hopes of growing with our people, customers, and partner communities,” said Ong. 

PCPPI also expedited its digital transformation initiative to streamline its business operation and financial management and improve customer experience. 

It integrated an advanced SAP Management System—a single data platform that processes and translates information into real-time insights and analytics for the company to make informed and sound business decisions.

“With all these systems in place, tandem with the positive outlook of COVID 19 vaccine rollout, we see that this year promises positive outcomes. Our resiliency as a nation will drive our business, the industry, and our economy further into recovery,” he said. 

Ong also reiterated that PCPPI remains committed to espouse its guiding principles and implement pandemic-driven improvements to support its employees. Despite the economic shock brought about by the pandemic, the company is firm that there are no layoff plans in sight.

“While the pandemic impacted the company’s operations and finances, we did not and will not lay off any employee, whom we call our Bravehearts. It is with them and through them that our company continues to succeed. Together with our Bravehearts, we will continue to find ways to drive better productivity, as how it should be for businesses.  We are proud to say that, with our people, PCPPI was able to fully support the demands of our customers, the Filipino people, and kept our stock levels intact,” he said.