The PepsiCo bottler is adding a brewery, a solar programme and a PET recycling plant. Each project is at a different stage.
Varun Beverages Zimbabwe plans to invest about US$650 million over five years in beer, solar power and PET recycling. The programme is led by parent group RJ Corporation, with partners including INOX. Chief executive Vijay Kumar Bahl gave the breakdown in an interview. On LinkedIn, he said the total also covers dairy, agriculture, hospitality and healthcare.
Where the money goes
Bahl put the 500-megawatt solar plan at US$300 million to US$350 million and a lager brewery at US$200 million to US$250 million. Together they come to US$500 million to US$600 million, leaving at most US$150 million for everything else.
Beer: imports first, brewery later
Varun signed its Carlsberg distribution deal in October 2025, with Zimbabwe as the first market. Imported Carlsberg was due to go on sale on 20 September, after an earlier target of April. Bahl said Varun will use its existing soft-drink distribution network to sell the beer. Local brewing should follow in 2027, once the brewery is built. The plant will challenge market leader Delta Corporation.
Solar: 130MW is under way
The first solar project, 130MW in Matobo, has started. The developer is SkyPower, which INOX and RJ Corporation acquired in February. Its power is contracted to state utility ZETDC, so solar is a separate business from Varun’s bottling lines. Chairman Ravi Jaipuria said in May he will aim for one gigawatt.
Recycling: cutting PET imports
Varun imports the PET granules used to make bottles. A recycling plant would cut those imports, Bahl said, and “we will be exporting to other countries from here.” He gave no site, cost or start date in the interview.
What is already built
Varun began in Zimbabwe in 2018 with one line making 10 million bottles a month. It now runs six lines producing nearly 120 million bottles a month, employs 2,000 people directly and supports 13,000 indirect livelihoods.
The Cheetos plant in Harare opened on 13 May as a US$20 million investment. A juice and dairy blending plant had its foundation stone laid the same day and is due to start production this year. Industry Minister Nqobizitha Ndlovu says grain, dairy and fruit farmers stand to gain new markets, and the company sees Zimbabwe becoming a regional manufacturing hub.
A dairy deal is pending
A Varun unit has proposed buying 48.79% of dairy processor Dairibord. Zimbabwe’s Competition and Tariff Commission is reviewing the deal and accepts public comment until 1 October. Elsewhere in Africa, Varun launched two new brands, Bolt Up and Xtreme Fizz, in Kenya on 14 September.
What to watch: the Competition Commission’s Dairibord decision, and progress on the brewery.
