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Varun Beverages, the PepsiCo bottling giant controlled by Indian billionaire Ravi Jaipuria, has signed an agreement to buy a 100 percent stake in Crickley Dairy, a South Africa-based dairy producer, marking the company's first significant step into the value-added dairy and juice-based drinks segment.
The deal, executed on March 17, 2026 through Varun Beverages' South African subsidiary, The Beverage Company Proprietary Limited, known as Bevco, is valued at an enterprise value of ZAR 238 million, equivalent to approximately $14.3 million. Crickley is being acquired from Clark Holdings Proprietary Limited, and the transaction requires clearance from the Competition Commission of South Africa before it can close.
Founded in 1984 by Ken Clark, Crickley Dairy operates primarily in South Africa's Eastern Cape region. The company produces milk, cheese, yogurt and ready-to-drink beverages, with its products sold through major South African retail chains including Pick n Pay, Shoprite and Spar. Its range also includes soft drinks, giving Varun Beverages a direct retail presence in a complementary category.
Varun Beverages confirmed in its regulatory filing that neither Clark Holdings nor Crickley Dairy is related to its promoter group, and the deal does not qualify as a related party transaction.
The acquisition is a deliberate diversification play. Jaipuria's company has built its empire almost entirely around carbonated soft drinks and water under the PepsiCo franchise, distributing Pepsi, Mountain Dew, 7 Up, Mirinda, Tropicana, Sting and Aquafina across India and multiple international markets. The Crickley deal opens a new product lane, with Varun Beverages stating it is specifically targeting value-added dairy and juice-based categories that sit outside its traditional core.
Jaipuria, known in Indian business circles as the "cola king," is the chairman of RJ Corp and one of India's wealthiest industrialists, with a net worth estimated at around $12 billion as of early 2026. He incorporated Varun Beverages in 1995 and named it after his son. The company became one of PepsiCo's largest bottlers globally outside the United States and listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange in 2016. Varun Beverages reported full-year revenue of roughly $2.4 billion in 2025, with net profit up 16 percent to approximately $331 million.
The Crickley deal is Jaipuria's third acquisition move in South Africa in quick succession. In March 2024, Varun Beverages acquired The Beverage Company itself, giving it bottling and distribution operations covering South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique and Madagascar. In December 2025, it announced plans to fully acquire Twizza, a South African soft drinks maker that produces sodas, energy drinks and mixers and operates three manufacturing plants in Cape Town, Queenstown and Middelburg.
Varun Beverages has also been expanding its African footprint beyond South Africa, incorporating a subsidiary in Kenya and beginning Cheetos production in Morocco and Zimbabwe in 2025. In October of that year, it signed a distribution agreement with Carlsberg for alcoholic beverages across Africa, another category step outside its traditional soft drink lane.
Shares of Varun Beverages rose about 2.6 percent on the Bombay Stock Exchange the day after the Crickley announcement, reflecting market approval of the diversification strategy. The stock had been trading near its 52-week low prior to the news.
