PepsiCo opens US$10M R&D hub in Riyadh to advance regional expansion, packaging

SAUDI ARABIA – PepsiCo has opened a US$10 million research and development hub in Riyadh focused on developing products, flavours and packaging tailored to Middle Eastern consumers, marking a permanent innovation base for the company in the region.

The Riyadh facility includes dedicated laboratories for packaging development and seasonings alongside quality testing operations, positioning packaging innovation as a core function rather than a supporting activity. 

The hub brings several stages of PepsiCo’s product development process into one location, an arrangement intended to shorten the time needed to develop, test and refine new products. 

By co-locating packaging engineers with flavour scientists and consumer researchers, the company aims to accelerate iteration cycles and reduce the lag between concept approval and commercial launch across regional markets.

Consumer Immersion Space Simulates Retail Environments

The facility features a consumer immersion space equipped with 360-degree screens and climate controls designed to simulate environments including beaches, stadiums and cinemas. 

It also includes a culinary kitchen and product development area, a focus group room, a 12-seat sensory panel and laboratories for quality testing. 

Bringing these functions together allows packaging formats to be evaluated in conditions approximating real consumption occasions, from outdoor venues to cinema settings where convenience and portability influence design decisions.

Saudi Scientists Join Global R&D Network

Saudi scientists and engineers will work alongside PepsiCo’s regional teams and its wider research network, which includes innovation centres in Brazil, China, Germany, Mexico and the United States. 

The hub will focus on developing new flavours, food concepts and packaging tailored to regional preferences, including locally inspired seasonings and products categorised as better-for-you options.

Leadership Cites Local Innovation Over Global Adaptation

Ahmed El Sheikh, chief executive for PepsiCo Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan Foods, said the company had been in the Middle East for over seven decades and understood how important it was that brands resonated with familiar tastes and lifestyles, whether through homegrown flavours, more options or more convenient formats. 

He noted that the centre helped the company innovate locally rather than adapt globally. Majed Oushi, PepsiCo’s research and development head for the Middle East, said the company’s agenda had always centred on creating foods speaking to people’s tastes, cultures and aspirations, adding that the new hub would help achieve this more quickly. 

The facility was inaugurated by Khalil bin Ibrahim bin Salameh, Saudi Arabia’s Vice Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources for Industrial Affairs.

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