Veris Investments announced that PepsiCo, one of the world’s leading food and beverage companies, joins Veris as a major shareholder in Senselet Food Processing Plc in Ethiopia. Veris Investments will continue to maintain a minority interest in Senselet and partner with PepsiCo to further grow the business and develop potato sourcing programmes in Ethiopia.
Senselet, founded by Veris Investments in 2015, has a leading market position in Ethiopia with its SUN Chips brand that is being produced from locally sourced potatoes. SUN Chips is distributed in Addis Ababa and other large Ethiopian cities and available in the flavours Habesha Spice, Paprika and Natural and in various pack sizes.
Senselet’s factory, located around 65km from Addis Ababa, is a modern production facility operating in line with high food safety and quality standards. The company now employs more than 150 people. Veris Investments set up Senselet with the aim to build a business that would contribute to the development of the potato value chain in Ethiopia.
The company established strong business partnerships with local farmers over the past three years. It has been facilitating a farmer training program with the aim to increase yields and produce high quality potatoes. Partners that have substantially contributed to the success of Senselet include the Dutch Government – Netherlands Enterprise Agency, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research and Wageningen University and Research. “PepsiCo shares our commitment to work with small and medium scale Ethiopian farmers as well as developing the potato value chain and sustainable farming in Ethiopia. Having PepsiCo as a partner will enable Senselet to leverage their extensive global expertise on potato cultivation, manufacturing and go-to-market capabilities as to further grow the company” said Juliette de Wijkerslooth, managing director of Veris Investments.