VBL Stock Jumps Over 3% As Varun Beverages Locks In PepsiCo Deal Till 2049

Varun Beverages Limited (VBL), PepsiCo's largest franchise bottler outside the US, has extended its exclusive bottling and trademark licence agreement with PepsiCo in India by ten years, taking the term out to 30 April 2049 from the earlier deadline of 30 April 2039.

The revised agreement was signed on 21 May 2026, and disclosed via a regulatory filing.

VBL shares moved higher in early trade on 22 May. The stock rose 3.7% to ₹533, compared with the previous close of ₹519.85.

What Changed In The Agreement

Beyond the extension, the revised deal includes a significant operational shift. PepsiCo has dropped a clause that until now limited VBL to only carry out business activities as a special purpose vehicle for PepsiCo’s operations. The removal of that restriction means Varun Beverages now has the freedom to pursue businesses and ventures beyond its current PepsiCo bottling mandate.

The company bottles and distributes a variety of PepsiCo brands in India and several overseas territories including Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Sting, Mirinda, 7UP and Tropicana.

A Partnership Built Over Decades

Varun Beverages entered the Pepsi bottling business in the late 1980s and formally consolidated operations under VBL in 1995. The partnership has since evolved into one of PepsiCo’s most strategically important globally. PepsiCo had transferred its own bottling operations in South and West India to VBL in 2019, which was a major milestone as VBL became PepsiCo's national bottling partner in almost the entire country.

Currently, VBL has PepsiCo franchise rights in 27 Indian states and several overseas markets, including Nepal, Sri Lanka, Morocco, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The company has been growing steadily in Africa, increasing manufacturing capacity and ramping up distribution.

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Financial Performance In Q4FY26

Varun Beverages Ltd reported a 20.14% rise in consolidated net profit to ₹878.71 crore for the March quarter of 2026. The growth was driven by strong double-digit volume gains across both India and international markets. The company had posted a net profit of ₹731.35 crore in the same quarter last year.

Revenue from operations also increased 18.33% year-on-year to ₹6,721.53 crore during the March quarter.

Sources:

The Economic Times

NDTV Profit

Business Standard