PepsiCo has launched a new campaign celebrating women in supply chain and operations roles at its UK sites, aiming to inspire more women to pursue frontline roles.
As part of the ‘She Is PepsiCo’ campaign, portraits of three female employees will replace the current design on trucks used across PepsiCo’s distribution network. This will showcase the women’s major roles in bringing favourites like Sensations, Snack A Jacks and Sunbites to fans nationwide.
The campaign features Manufacturing Technicians Manjit Kaur (59), who started her career chopping potatoes at PepsiCo’s Leicester Walkers factory in 2011, and Ewa Doroslawska (36) from Coventry, whose PepsiCo career spans almost 20 years. Alex Praja (26), also a Manufacturing Technician who decided to pursue a career in engineering after joining PepsiCo, completes the group of women heroed in the campaign. The trio were nominated by their respective site directors, who were asked to highlight employees consistently going above and beyond in their roles.
Each woman has also received a grant of £5,000 to donate to a local women’s charity of their choice.
This month, the trucks have been officially unveiled at special ceremonies taking place at PepsiCo’s Leicester, Coventry and Skelmersdale sites, and the three charities – Women’s Aid Leicestershire, Young Women’s Trust, and Kairos Women Working Together – presented with cheques. The families, friends and colleagues of Manjit, Ewa and Alex also attended the celebrations.
Alison Atkins, HR Director Supply Chain, PepsiCo UK and Ireland, said: “We’re proud to be spotlighting the incredible work of women in frontline jobs across our sites, and bringing their stories to people all over the UK. As well as recognising their crucial role in producing some of the UK’s most-loved snacks, we hope this campaign will inspire more women to pursue careers across the supply chain. Be sure to look out for our special trucks on the roads!”
In 2021, PepsiCo launched its Home Grown development programme, which aims to support and nurture diverse frontline talent and accelerate them into leadership roles. Since its creation, 32% of the women on the programme have achieved promotion or transitioned into new roles, showcasing its success in fostering career progression.
Celebrating the women behind PepsiCo’s snacks supply chain
Commenting on her inclusion in the She Is PepsiCo campaign, Manjit Kaur, Manufacturing Technician – Sensations, Leicester, said: “I’m very proud of this nomination – it’s something I never expected and to get this kind of recognition is amazing. It doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman, you can reach the same goal if you have a willingness to learn and you put your mind to it.”
Offering her advice to women considering a career in supply chain or operations, Ewa Doroslawska, Process Manufacturing Technician – Sunbites, Coventry, said: “The world is changing for women and it makes me really proud to see more women coming into front-line work. Taking the first step is often the hardest bit, but believe in yourself – you have nothing to lose!”
Alex Praja, Manufacturing Technician, Snack A Jacks – Skelmersdale, added: “I don’t always have confidence, so it feels really good to be part of She Is PepsiCo. I hope I can inspire more women to give engineering a try because we need more women in the industry.”
It also builds on PepsiCo UK’s work to create an inclusive and equitable environment where women can thrive at every stage of their careers. This includes a range of policies and initiatives such as its recently expanded family leave policy, continental shift patterns – which support work-life balance through dedicated time-off after shifts – and its menopause policy. PepsiCo UK also runs talent programmes aimed at attracting more women into frontline positions and provides training and development opportunities across all levels.
PepsiCo currently has open roles at its sites in Leicester, Coventry and Skelmersdale, with more information available here.
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