Varun Beverages Limited will expand into East Africa’s dairy market. The PepsiCo bottling giant said on Monday, July 6, that its wholly owned subsidiary, VBL Industries (Kenya) Limited, has signed a business transfer agreement to acquire the dairy beverages, juices and packaged water business of Devyani Food Industries (Kenya) Limited for $32 million, roughly ₹305 crore or Sh4.15 billion.
The seller trades under the Daima brand, a household name in Kenyan dairy known for milk, yoghurt and juice products sold across the country.
Devyani Food Industries (Kenya) is a subsidiary of Devyani Food Industries Limited, part of the promoter group behind Varun Beverages itself. Both companies sit under RJ Corp, the conglomerate founded by Ravi Kant Jaipuria that also controls Devyani International, the operator of KFC, Pizza Hut and Costa Coffee outlets across India.
What the deal covers
VBL Kenya will take over Daima’s manufacturing business as a going concern, absorbing all associated assets. The transaction excludes cash and includes no shareholding transfer, since no equity changes hands between the parties. Varun Beverages expects the deal to close on or before August 1, 2026.
The facility at the center of the acquisition sits on 52 acres along a national highway in Nakuru, with 17,500 square meters of built up space. It already produces value added dairy beverages, juices and packaged drinking water, and runs on infrastructure that includes a reverse osmosis plant, boiler, effluent treatment plant, diesel generator and air compressor. The plant holds Food Safety System Certification 22000 and ISO 9001:2015 accreditation, credentials that speak to consistent quality control rather than a hurried buildout.
Why Varun Beverages wants it
Varun Beverages calls itself the largest PepsiCo franchisee outside the United States. The company set up a wholly owned Kenyan subsidiary in 2025 to strengthen its footprint in East Africa, a market it has flagged as one with strong long term potential thanks to favorable demographics and rising consumption. Acquiring an established Kenyan manufacturing site skips years of permitting, construction and certification that a greenfield plant would demand.
The move also signals ambition beyond dairy. Varun Beverages disclosed that VBL Kenya is preparing to launch a carbonated soft drinks range, which suggests the Nakuru facility could eventually produce more than juices and milk products. Since the company already runs an exclusive distribution deal with Carlsberg in select African markets and has been building its snacks distribution in Zimbabwe and Zambia, this acquisition fits a broader pattern of expansion across the continent.
A related party transaction
Because DFIL Kenya belongs to the Varun Beverages promoter group, the company classified this as a related party transaction under Indian securities rules. In its disclosure to the National Stock Exchange and BSE, Varun Beverages stated that the deal was conducted on an arm’s length basis, meaning pricing and terms were set as they would be between unrelated parties. Ravi Batra, Chief Risk Officer and Group Company Secretary, signed the filing on behalf of the company.
For Kenyan consumers, the practical impact may be limited in the short term. Daima products will likely stay on shelves under the same name, since the deal transfers the business and its assets rather than dissolving the brand. What changes is who stands behind the balance sheet, and that shift gives one of the world’s largest beverage bottlers a manufacturing base it can use to push further into East African markets.
