PepsiCo announces India winners of 'Dare To Do More' challenge

PepsiCo India has announced Komal Khanduja and Taranjot Kaur as the winners of its global student challenge ‘Dare To Do More’ (DTDM). The challenge aims to attract bright young minds by giving them a stage to share their ‘Big’ idea that aims to transform the food and beverage industry. Khanduja and Kaur from Mudra Institute of Communication, Ahmedabad, have been selected as the India winners among 3,800 entries received on identifying and presenting viable business plan on the next big trend expected in the industry.

Team Rajdhani Express of Khanduja and Kaur were declared the winners by an eminent jury that included Lulu Raghavan, the Managing Director, Landor, Ahmed ElSheikh, President, PepsiCo India, Pavitra Singh, CHRO, PepsiCo India and Aditya Sinha, Sr. Director and Head-Sales, PepsiCo India. The winners were selected on the basis of an evaluation of creativity, thought leadership, critical thinking and business acumen showcased by the teams in their presentation to the Jury.

Lulu Raghavan, Managing Director, Landor, said, “It has been a delight and honour to witness the brightest minds of young India sharing such creative solutions to real-life situations that the food and beverage industry faces. I would like to congratulate PepsiCo India for continuing to build on the legacy of this innovative challenge to on-board enthusiastic talent and would like to wish that team Rajdhani Express do India proud by winning the AMESA Finale.”

Pavitra Singh, CHRO, PepsiCo India, said, “Dare to Do More has over the years been recognised for being an innovative platform that ignites and encourages creativity and fresh thinking. After a fiercely competitive presentation and evaluation by the Jury, team Rajdhani Express emerged as the winner and I am confident that they will bring even greater laurels to India by winning the AMESA finale too, just like Bijayeta Pati did.”

Team Rajdhani Express of Khanduja and Kaur spoke about their experience, “To be a part of this challenge was an exhilarating experience for us and we are overwhelmed to have won this coveted contest.  The FMCG industry has been experiencing several changes wherein consumers are now opting for different products at affordable price points. These trends made us brainstorm on several ideas, before finalising the one which turned out to be a winner. We would like to thank the jury and are glad that our efforts paid off. We look forward to competing with the winners from Egypt at the Sector finale.”

Team Rajdhani Express as the India winners will now go head-to-head with the Egypt challenge winners at the Sector finale for the coveted ‘AMESA DTDM 2020’ winner title. The winning team will then get the opportunity to showcase their innovative idea along with winning teams from Europe and LATAM Sectors, to Ramon Laguarta, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, PepsiCo and the PepsiCo global leadership team. The challenge winners from each of the three participating sectors will earn themselves a job offer and the opportunity to kick start their career with PepsiCo.

The AMESA Sector winners will also earn themselves mentorship from PepsiCo senior leaders, along with a three-month international project with PepsiCo in Dubai.

Dare to Do More provides young talent a platform to share creative solutions to ‘real-life’ problems, with a chance to work with the company. The 2020 challenge’s theme is Innovation and aims to attract leaders of tomorrow, who can address real business issues and help PepsiCo become faster, stronger and better. Participants were asked to “suggest an innovative idea backed by a viable business plan that has the power to take the food and beverage industry by storm”.

The challenge invited students, graduates and professionals with up to three years of experience from India and Egypt markets in the AMESA Sector to harness their entrepreneurial skills and identify the next big trend in the food and beverage industry.

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