Levent Yuksel, PepsiCo Vice President and General Manager for Greater Balkans - Serbia is attractive for further investments

(Levent Yuksel) Since PepsiCo company took over Marbo in 2008, they see in Serbia’s market growing potential and the base for business development in Balkans.

The Reasons why our country is perceived as attractive for further investments, whether they are planning new acquisitions, and where we are we compared to other 13 markets belonging to ‘Greater Balkans’, in the interview for eKapija, reveals Levent Yuksel, Vice President and General Manager for Greater Balkans and Southeast Europe Franchise of PepsiCo company.

eKapija: Are you satisfied with PepsiCo operations at West Balkans market?

Let me first talk about our Greater Balkans business unit which includes Serbia and Bosnia as two of our key anchor markets among 14 countries with 75 mil consumers. In this business unit we work as a strong team to ensure we leverage our common strengths and synergy opportunities to increase our effectiveness and impact in every market we operate. PepsiCo’s strong food and beverage portfolio keeps fueling our success in the whole Balkans and Southeast Europe region for many years behind and to come. We are well positioned to drive and capture growth opportunities in these markets . Our regional success is the result of recognizing the potential and characteristics of local markets and our consumers. Our mission is to put smiles on the faces of our consumers, customers and employees every day through high quality products and unique innovations from treat to nourishment.

Our business in West Balkans, through its 20 years existence with Marbo branded potato Chips, Clipsy branded snacks, Pardon branded baked products, and Gud branded nuts & seeds is successfully offering wide choices to our consumers in the area. We are extremely satisfied with the strong market positions we have achieved with these powerful brands, well supported by the global PepsiCo Global Snacks powerhouse.

eKapija: How do you see Serbian market comparing with other markets under your leadership? What are the differences between consumers in these markets?

As I already said, our success is based on recognizing the characteristics of local markets and our consumers. Each of 14 countries within Greater Balkans is a market for itself with diverse consumer and customer profiles which we acknowledge and take as richness. Furthermore each market has its own opportunities and challenges, and is developing with a different pace given their varying stage of evolution. Given this diversity, we are constantly aiming to provide the most relevant, high quality, affordable and accessible products for our consumers’ varying demands and choices.In this context Serbia is one of our most promising markets where we build successful connection with our consumers in understanding their needs and delivering to their expectations. This way we build Serbia as one of our best practice markets exporting ideas, know-how and talent to the rest of the organization while delivering strong performance to sustain the market’s attractiveness for investments.

eKapija: In 2008 PepsiCo acquired the Serbian company Marbo. Are you satisfied with Marbo`s operations?

Marbo became part of PepsiCo in 2008 and as a member of the PepsiCo group had a series of successful activities shaped by our vision and commitment. The past seven years were the years of the synergy between the best of both worlds - Marbo got the strong support of the global partner and multinational company’s know-how, while PepsiCo integrated regionally successful brands like Chipsy, Clipsy, Pardon&Gud into its brand family. The integration made local company a part of a global system making it possible to implement business-practices of the company that is a leading global food and beverage company generating more than $66 billion in net revenue in 2014. Marbo is one of Serbia’s favourite brands and it has gone from strength to strength over the past 20 years. Today Marbo’s brands and products are some of the most loved in the snack industry, which makes us very satisfied.

eKapija: What is Marbo’scontribution to the business of PepsiCo?

Marbo is a strong contributor to PepsiCo and to Serbian economy through its solid market position and the resulting financial performance enabling continued investments in its people and the economy. Being part of a global company helped Marbo to be more equipped in adapting to changes in both global and local markets. Thanking to high quality standards that we apply in our production and quality of our products, Marbo is exporting a third of our local production into regional markets and also producing products for highly competitive markets in Western Europe - to Belgium, Holland and France, as well as for United Arab Emirates.

eKapija: Is there a difference in entering strategy and business development between multinational company which enters directly to the market and multinational company which acquires local company?

When we talk about Marbo, the moment of establishing the company was very important. The founders of Marbo recognized and then seized the Snack category growth opportunity and by offering high quality products distributed them through a strong network. So, during the years they have built up a good local company that eventually attracted attention of a global player in the snack market like PepsiCo. So, following acquisition of Marbo, PepsiCo invested heavily on this strong foundation, in people, brands and assets not only to make Marbo portfolio of brands love brands in the region, but also a region wide premier food company with best in class customer service.

eKapija: Are you interested in new acquisition in Serbia or Balkans?

Our focus is to invest behind our current business and grow Marbo to new heights. The company is well-known for its brands Chipsy, Clipsy, Pardon and Gud. We are very committed to building a strong local business in the West Balkans, one that can grow successfully and sustainably. We do this by investing in our people and their capabilities, and in our business. Our aspiration is to please our consumers in all markets we operate in and offer them top quality products at best value for their money.

eKapija: Which brands from Marbo portfolio are the best sellers in Serbia? Which brand do you see as the most potential in further period?

Our portfolio in Marbo is very wide and thus it includes products for all consumers and covers a variety of occasions. Of course our flagship is indeed Chipsy brand , and we are constantly trying to innovate and offer even more indulging propositions in Chips category , like Domacinski a couple of years ago, to our consumers and we will continue to do so even in the near future.
Moreover all of our other brands have substantial potential, and a great example of that is our ClipsyPopCornwhich since its launch it has established a brand new category in the market , the ready to eat Popcorn .

eKapija: How do you see markets you are responsible for? What are the biggest challenges you are facing with or you will face at West Balkans market?

The markets in Greater Balkans are offering varying degree of opportunities and challenges given their stage of evolution, market development and macro-economic realities. Our job is to offer solutions to keep growing, even during more difficult economic times, . In this context we are happy to see we kept in growth mode in West Balkans despite the many recent economic challenges which have seen consumers cut their spending.
The main challenge therefore is the consumer confidence and disposable income trends that limit the market growth opportunities. Our response to that is to support and foster an innovative environment to stay most relevant for the consumer needs in this reality.

Jelena Đelić