Leading food and beverage companies, including Varun Beverages, Haldiram’s, Kandhari Beverages (maker of Thumbs Up), and Muttiah Muralitharan’s Ceylon Beverages, are preparing to establish their first manufacturing units in Jammu & Kashmir.

Economic Times reported that Varun Beverages is currently awaiting land allotment, while Haldiram’s Snacks Manufacturing, Ceylon Beverages, and Kandhari Beverages have already received government approvals under the New Central Sector Scheme for Industrial Development of Jammu and Kashmir, 2021.

According to data on the J&K government portal, Varun Beverages has proposed one of the highest investments at Rs 3,394 crore for a manufacturing unit on an 87.5-acre plot, pending land allotment.

Ceylon Beverages is set to invest Rs 1,600 crore in a 25.75-acre can-manufacturing plant, while Kandhari Beverages has outlined a Rs 1,100 crore investment to build a PET bottling facility on 36 acres.