Beyond the Pilot: How PepsiCo is helping sustainability startups close the gap between pilot and scale, as five PepsiCo Greenhouse Program APAC 2026: The IMPACT Edition alumni[...]

Beyond the Pilot: How PepsiCo is helping sustainability startups close the gap between pilot and scale, as five PepsiCo Greenhouse Program APAC 2026: The IMPACT Edition alumni sign letters of intent

Key Takeaways:

SINGAPORE, 19 October 2026 - Many promising sustainability solutions never move beyond the pilot stage. PepsiCo today announced it has signed Letters of Intent (LOIs) with five startups from PepsiCo Greenhouse Program APAC 2026: The IMPACT Edition, a program designed to help close that gap. The LOIs reflect a shared intention to explore pathways for scaling and potential commercial deployment of the startups' solutions across Asia Pacific, in areas ranging from electric farm machinery, soil intelligence and biochar to packaging recovery and logistics efficiency.

Shifting from startup discovery toward commercial readiness, the seven-month PepsiCo Greenhouse Program APAC 2026: The IMPACT Edition included five Greenhouse Program alumni: Adiona, Bali Waste Cycle, Beijing AIForce Tech (BAIFT), Takachar, and X-Centric Sciences. The startups brought solutions across logistics efficiency, sustainable agriculture, emissions reduction and circularity.

The challenge is a global one. Across the food system, a solution proven in a field trial or pilot can still face hurdles around procurement, compliance, operations and cost before it is adopted at scale. The IMPACT Edition tested a different approach that brought those considerations into the process from the start, so barriers to deployment surface earlier and promising solutions have a clearer path to commercial use. The approach connects to pep+ (PepsiCo Positive), PepsiCo's strategic end-to-end transformation that places sustainability at the centre of its business strategy.

Through the IMPACT Framework, designed to help move startups from pilots to commercial deployment, each founder was paired with a cross-functional PepsiCo team that included experts across sustainability, supply chain, procurement, R&D, operations, finance, and legal. This brought technical, operational, commercial, and compliance considerations into the process earlier, helping identify potential barriers to deployment.

The program concluded with signed letters of intent with all five sustainability startups, with any future deployment or commercial activity subject to further evaluation and agreement.

"Building resilient, growing businesses in Asia Pacific will increasingly require collaboration across sectors and capabilities," said Anne Tse, Chief Executive Officer, Asia Pacific, PepsiCo. "Through the Greenhouse Accelerator, we are bringing entrepreneurs together with PepsiCo teams to test emerging solutions against real business and operational challenges across the food system. The opportunity goes beyond any single technology or partnership. By working with startups, investors, and other partners, we can help create stronger connections across the innovation ecosystem, explore solutions with the potential to support business resilience and growth."

How five startups progressed through commercial-readiness evaluation

Each of the five returning alumni followed a different pathway based on the maturity and availability of its technology, the business needs it addresses, and the operational conditions required for adoption. While each LOI is specific to a market in Asia Pacific, the challenges they address, from farm emissions and soil health to packaging waste and transport efficiency, are shared by food and agriculture businesses worldwide.

• Adiona (Australia, 2023 alumnus) built on its earlier work with PepsiCo involving AI-powered route optimization and opportunities to improve fleet efficiency. After progressing through the program framework during the IMPACT Edition, Adiona and PepsiCo have signed a Letter of Intent to explore network and logistics optimization opportunities in China.
• Beijing AIForce Tech (China, 2025 alumnus) built on its existing work with PepsiCo China involving electric agricultural machinery. BAIFT's 140HP electric tractor currently operates under a five-year commercial lease with PepsiCo China, supporting potato farming at selected grower farms in PepsiCo's agricultural supply chain, while its larger 180HP tractor is undergoing testing scheduled to conclude by the end of 2026. During the IMPACT Edition, PepsiCo and BAIFT signed a Letter of Intent to explore expanding their existing relationship in China, including potential future agricultural technology collaboration.
• Bali Waste Cycle (Indonesia, 2025 alumnus) worked with PepsiCo Indonesia on the collection and recycling of flexible packaging, while exploring potential end-market applications for recovered material. During the program, the startup used recovered snack packaging in street signs installed in Denpasar and Gianyar, and explored potential demand from the tourism and corporate sectors. PepsiCo and Bali Waste Cycle have signed a Letter of Intent to explore expanded packaging recovery and circular applications for recovered flexible plastic in Indonesia.
• Takachar (Thailand, 2024 alumnus) continued exploring the potential application of its portable technology, which converts agricultural residues into biochar. Through the IMPACT Edition, Takachar and PepsiCo examined the operational and commercial requirements for potential applications across agricultural value chains, and signed a Letter of Intent to further evaluate potential applications of Takachar's technology across APAC.
• X-Centric Sciences (Australia, 2024 alumnus) continued working with PepsiCo to assess how its soil intelligence technology could be integrated into agricultural workflows to inform decisions about soil health and crop inputs. Following field trials with PepsiCo's agriculture team in Australia, X-Centric and PepsiCo have signed a Letter of Intent to explore potential applications of precision soil intelligence in Australia.

Several participating startups have also continued to build external momentum following their participation in The IMPACT Edition. Separately, BAIFT reported US$60 million Series B funding round, while X-Centric was selected for Google DeepMind's first AI for the Planet accelerator in Asia Pacific. These developments highlight the broader importance of building connections across the innovation ecosystem to help ideas, technologies and potential solutions progress.

Since 2023, the PepsiCo Greenhouse Program APAC has brought together 30 promising startups and supported 22 pilots across circularity, sustainable agriculture, and climate solutions.

What comes next

Following the program's closing showcase, PepsiCo and participating startups will continue discussions under the Letters of Intent (LOIs), exploring potential opportunities for further collaboration. Any future implementation will be subject to further evaluation and agreement, including consideration of solution performance, business value, operational fit, and market needs.

Launched in APAC in 2023, the PepsiCo Greenhouse Program APAC began as a grant-based accelerator focused on circularity, sustainable agriculture and climate solutions. Across four editions, the program has evolved, with the 2026 IMPACT Edition placing greater emphasis on exploring integration, commercial readiness and potential pathways towards deployment.

The program is supported by an expanded ecosystem of venture capital, agriculture and innovation partners, including Artesian, AgFunder Asia, AgriFutures, growAG, Better Earth Ventures, Circulate Capital, CM Venture Capital, Cooley, GC Ventures, SAIL (Singapore Agri-food Innovation Lab at Nanyang Technological University), and Suntory PepsiCo Beverages. This broader ecosystem provides participating startups with access to perspectives and expertise across areas such as market access, investment readiness, commercialisation and considerations relevant to potential enterprise adoption.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated nearly $94 billion in net revenue in 2025, driven by a complementary beverage and convenient foods portfolio that includes Lay's, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Quaker, and SodaStream. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and drinks, including many iconic brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Beverages and Convenient Foods by Winning with pep+ (PepsiCo Positive). pep+ is our strategic end-to-end transformation that places sustainability at the center of our business strategy, seeking to drive growth and build a stronger, more resilient future for PepsiCo and the communities where we operate. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com, and follow on X (Twitter), Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn @PepsiCo.

For media inquiries, please contact: Katie O'Mahony [email protected]

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