Riyadh - Sharikat Mubasher: PepsiCo, one of the largest food and beverage businesses in the world, inaugurated its $10 million regional research and development (R&D) hub in Riyadh, establishing a permanent base for R&D in the Middle East.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony was attended by Vice Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources for Industrial Affairs in Saudi Arabia, Khalil Salameh, according to the official statement released today.
The R&D hub will develop new flavors and packaging that match the preferences of people in the Middle East, including locally inspired seasoning and better-for-you options. It will also employ local scientists and engineers who will work alongside teams from PepsiCo’s regional and global R&D network, spanning innovation centers in Brazil, China, Germany, Mexico, and the US.
The new facility underscores PepsiCo’s commitment to supporting local and national transformation. It will help the company maintain momentum in its Middle East markets, building on decades of investment with a growing pipeline of projects across the region.
Majed Oushi, R&D head for the Middle East at PepsiCo, said: “PepsiCo’s R&D agenda has always been about creating the foods that speak to people’s tastes, cultures, and aspirations. This new R&D hub will help us to do that quicker than ever. For the first time, we can work directly from what people tell us in real time and under one roof. That means we can move faster and stay closer to what people want, raising the bar for PepsiCo’s innovation teams and driving us to think bigger than ever.”
The hub will streamline the R&D cycle, allowing teams to develop, test, and refine new ideas more quickly. This includes a Consumer Immersion Space featuring 360° screens and climate controls that can simulate a beach, stadium, movie theatre, or any other setting; a Culinary Kitchen and Ideation Area for on-the-spot recipe refinement; a Focus Group Room for live feedback; a 12-seat Sensory Panel that translates people’s experiences into quantitative measures; and a set of labs for quality testing, packaging development, and seasoning.