Will Iraq become PepsiCo’s next Middle East manufacturing hub?
Despite ongoing turmoil in the Middle East, PepsiCo is doubling down on expanding its regional production, with Iraq emerging as a strong focus market
The war in Iran has dominated news throughout 2026, but with no end to the conflict in sight, life and business as usual has been moving ahead in other parts of the region.
One such example is neighbouring Iraq, which was a longstanding centre of conflict-related news throughout the 2000s. Despite its proximity to the centre of the war in Iran, this country is slowly emerging as a potential new manufacturing centre, receiving attention even from major brands such as PepsiCo.
Carlsberg and Sapporo go in big on alliance in Asia, UK
Beer giants Carlsberg and Sapporo are tapping on existing successful partnerships to expand regional reach, with an eye on taking this collaboration global
The former has identified Sapporo as a cornerstone of its premiumisation strategy in Malaysia since the beginning of the partnership, with Carlsberg Malaysia MD Stefano Clini often citing Sapporo’s status as the ‘oldest premium beer brand in Japan’ as a draw for consumers.
This recent global-level partnership agreement was signed between the larger Carlsberg Group and Sapporo in the form of a joint venture, and will see Carlsberg expand its Sapporo operations to Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia and also obtain licensing for production and distribution in Myanmar and the United Kingdom.
Catch-22: Kirin puts JPY43.8bn price tag on green transition
Kirin estimates carbon pricing could add JPY43.8bn (US$274.24m) to packaging costs by 2050, highlighting the financial trade-offs of the shift to a low-carbon economy
Kirin faces costs whichever climate pathway the world takes: a faster transition could make carbon-intensive materials and energy more expensive, while a slower one could increase the physical risks of climate change, including damage to agricultural yields.
The Japanese beverage giant’s latest climate-risk assessment estimates that carbon pricing could add JPY43.8bn (US$274.24m) to packaging costs by 2050 under its Sustainable Scenario, which assumes a stronger global shift towards a low-carbon economy.
Al Rawabi CEO: Localisation, convenience key to Middle East protein boom
Protein demand is on the rise in the Middle East just like everywhere else, but companies need to prioritise some nuances in order to succeed, according to one of the region’s largest conglomerates
Al Rawabi Dairy is the dairy arm of the Emirates Rawabi Group, a state-linked corporation that is supported by the Dubai government, the Arab Authority for Agricultural Investment and Development (AAAID), the Gulf Investment Corporation and other private shareholders.
Heading up Emirates Rawabi today is Group CEO Mazen Al Refae, who strongly believes that high protein products are set to take off in the Middle East, but firms need to cater to local needs in order to stand out.
“Al Rawabi wants to develop and grow with a ‘from UAE to UAE’ mindset, so we are creating many new product ranges catering for our local taste buds and not international ones,” he said.
PepsiCo flags major gap in women’s sports nutrition
PepsiCo is calling for more practical women’s sports nutrition products and research, with greater focus on areas such as hormonal health and body image sensitivities
According to the food and beverage giant, women are largely underserved in terms of targeted, science-backed sports nutrition solutions because globally only some 6% of sports science research is focused on women, per data from the Gatorade Sports Science Institute.
“In general, many women athletes are constantly dehydrated and worse yet a lot of this research fails to take individual hormone cycles into consideration,” PepsiCo Life Sciences Associate Principal Scientist Teena Badshah told the floor at our recent Growth Asia Summit 2026 in Singapore.
