EUROPE | PepsiCo has entered a new food category with the launch of a ready-to-heat vegetable soup range under its Alvalle brand.
The range has built on Alvalle’s pioneering success in the crowded gazpacho soup category and aligned with consumer trends toward convenience, health, and plant-based eating, as well as those seeking ready-to-eat, nutritious meals.
Produced in the heart of Murcia, the soups are made with 100 percent Spanish-sourced natural ingredients, vegetables, olive oil and salt, no additives or gluten, and will be listed in the chilled aisle.
Customers will be able to enjoy two brand-new recipes: Vegetable Cream, made with zucchini, carrot, potato, and onion, and Pumpkin Cream, filled with pumpkin, carrot, onion, and sweet potato.
Currently, sales of gazpacho largely occur during warmer months; however, as consumers look for convenient, healthy meals during colder periods, the expansion presents a growth opportunity for the brand. The two new hot soups will also complement Alvalle’s seasonal nature, as they will utilise available production capacity in the winter.
"PepsiCo is seizing a strategic opportunity for Alvalle to become an all-year fixture by responding to how consumers eat across seasons, with simple, convenient meals made with natural ingredients that fit lunch and dinner occasions," said Lluis Crespo, Alvalle General Manager within PepsiCo’s Food Ventures Business Unit.
"It is a natural evolution for our Alvalle brand and opens the door to growth to even more geographies by appealing to a wider range of consumers."
The category expansion aligned with PepsiCo’s focus as a food company rooted in agriculture and was the latest move into broadening its food portfolio across the globe, following recent acquisitions such as Siete Foods and Sabra dips. Alvalle’s hot soups embody PepsiCo’s positive agriculture and supply chain commitments, offering consumers a delicious, sustainable choice for every season.
Earlier this year, Alvalle and the PepsiCo Foundation launched the VivaOliva program in Jaén, Spain, a region from which the brand sources olive oil for its gazpacho, aiming to help 150 olive farmers adopt more regenerative agricultural practices and improve their businesses.
The hot soups will launch initially in Spain, with plans to expand into Portugal and other Western European markets.
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