1. Varun Beverages Ltd (VBL) is acquiring South Africa's Twizza Proprietary Limited for approximately $125 million, expanding its footprint in Africa.
2. VBL is diversifying its portfolio with operations in beverages, snacks, and partnerships like the Carlsberg beer distribution agreement.
3. Africa has become a key growth market for VBL, contributing to increased international volumes, especially amidst domestic challenges in India.
4. The acquisition involves three manufacturing plants and reinforces Twizza's status as a backward-integrated non-alcoholic beverage producer.

Varun Beverages Ltd (VBL), PepsiCo’s largest bottler outside the United States and majority-owned by the Jaipuria family, is expanding its African operations with the acquisition of Twizza Proprietary Limited.

The deal will be executed through VBL’s South African subsidiary, Bevco, giving the company control of three Twizza manufacturing plants in Cape Town, Queenstown, and Middelburg.

Twizza’s Operations and Financial Performance

Twizza, a producer and distributor of non-alcoholic beverages, operates a fully backward-integrated production system, including five preform lines and a closure line, designed to enhance operational efficiency.

In the year ending June 30, 2025, the company generated ZAR 1,689 million (about $113 million) in revenue and sold roughly 71 million 8-ounce cases.

The acquisition by Varun Beverages is expected to be completed by June 30, 2026, pending regulatory approvals in South Africa, Botswana, and Eswatini, after which Twizza will operate as a subsidiary of the Indian bottler.

Africa Driving International Growth

Africa has become a key growth engine for VBL. While domestic volumes in India were flat during the first nine months of 2025 due to heavy rainfall, international volumes increased 9%, largely driven by African markets.

This contributed to a 56.7% gross margin in Q3 CY2025, supported by a higher water sales mix and efficiencies from backward integration.

VBL’s African presence spans Morocco, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with distribution rights in Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, and Madagascar.

The company is also establishing a wholly owned subsidiary in Kenya for local manufacturing and distribution.

Diversification and Backward Integration

Beyond PepsiCo beverages, VBL has entered an exclusive distribution agreement with Carlsberg Breweries A/S to test-market beer across select African subsidiaries.

Its snack manufacturing facility in Morocco has reached full-scale operations, while plants in Zambia and Zimbabwe are set to produce and distribute Simba Munchiez.

The Twizza acquisition underscores VBL’s focus on backward integration and operational resilience, enabling greater control over raw materials, reducing dependence on imports, and improving supply chain efficiency.

With 12 production facilities already operational outside India and new plants under commissioning in the DRC and Zimbabwe, VBL is positioning itself as a pan-African beverage powerhouse, leveraging local production to capture market share across one of the continent’s fastest-growing soft drink markets. (Business Insider Africa)