Leading global food and beverage company PepsiCo has signed up as the official beverage and snack partner for the Dubai Expo 2020 gala event.

The Expo 2020 Dubai organisers said it has joined forces with PepsiCo to jointly work towards a healthier and more sustainable future in the lead-up to, during and beyond the next World Expo in 2020.

With this signing, Expo 2020 has now 10 official premier partners - Accenture, Cisco, DP World, Emirates Airlines, Emirates NBD, Etisalat, Nissan, SAP and Siemens - and two official partners Dewa and UPS.

Speaking at the signing ceremony held at the Expo 2020 site in Dubai South, UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation and Expo 2020 Dubai’s Director General, Reem Al Hashimy, said: "The two organisations will work together to inspire and educate millions on areas of critical importance including water stewardship, sustainable packaging, agriculture and nutrition."

This is the first World Expo to be held in its 167-year history in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region. Some 25 million visitors are expected at the event, of which 70 per cent will be from outside the UAE.

Its core theme, ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and subthemes of Opportunity, Sustainability and Mobility are closely aligned to PepsiCo’s Performance with Purpose 2025 Agenda, with its three focus areas of Products, Planet and People, said a senior official.

It was attended by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the chairman of the Expo 2020 Dubai Higher Committee; Mohammed Al Shaibani, the director general of HH The Ruler’s Court, Government of Dubai and the chief executive and the executive director of the Investment Corporation of Dubai; Indra K Nooyi, the chairman and chief executive of PepsiCo; Mike Spanos, the chief executive of PepsiCo Asia, Mena; and Omar Farid, the president, PepsiCo Mena.

In his address, Sheikh Ahmed said: "The increasing world population is straining the planet’s resources, generating an urgent need for more intelligent sources of nutrition, and packaging for snacks and beverages among other solutions."

"Expo 2020 Dubai is committed to showcasing products and innovations that will help address this global challenge, allowing people to live healthier, more prosperous and sustainable lives," he noted.

“Through our partnership with PepsiCo, a company operating at the cutting edge of the F&B sector, we will be able to show millions of people what sustainable F&B will look like in the future, inspire more ideas, while educating visitors on our shared values towards a better world,” he added.

Nooyi said: "We are honoured to be selected by Expo 2020 as the Official Beverage and Snack Partner for this incredible gathering of the global ‘best of the best’ in Dubai. PepsiCo and Expo 2020 Dubai share the belief that we must create a virtuous cycle that can sustain our way of life for the next generation and beyond."

"Together, we will make this event one of discovery – from new foods and beverages, to new solutions to the sustainability challenges that face us today and in the years ahead," she added.

Nooyi said PepsiCo plans to feature innovative, unique products at Expo 2020 Dubai, in line with the Expo themes of Sustainability, Opportunity and Mobility.

The company will also use the World Expo to showcase its latest nutrition-driven initiatives, expanding on programmes like ‘helloGoodness’, which shows how convenience, affordability and nutrition will come together in a new way in the future.

PepsiCo will also leverage the collective power of its brands to ensure that Expo 2020 Dubai will reach millions of households globally through cross branding, promotional contests and social media initiatives, said the top offcial.
 
Before and during the six-month event, Expo 2020’s logo will be used on packaging for select PepsiCo brands, including Pepsi, Lay’s and Quaker Oats, she added.-TradeArabia News Service