What is PepsiCo doing in the middle of the Murcian orchard?

The landscape surrounding Alcantarilla is arid and wide, until it meets the Murcian mountains. Along the way, highways, roundabouts, plots of land to be urbanized, and a few industrial warehouses are scattered. In this municipality, next to the city of Murcia, the 44,000 inhabitants coexist with a mosaic formed by the orchard, industry, and logistics. In the San Andrés business park, a huge red warehouse owned by PepsiCo attracts all eyes. What is this American giant doing in this corner of the Murcian orchard? It transforms tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers into the gazpacho of one of its brands: Alvalle.

Located in Alcantarilla, Alvalle sells around 20 million bottles annually and produces more than 30 million liters of gazpacho and other refrigerated creams. Half of the production goes abroad, especially to European markets such as France, Belgium, Portugal, Germany, and the United Kingdom, as well as to the United States. Today, refrigerated gazpacho and salmorejo already move more than 250 million euros in Spain, according to the consultancy Circana. In this market, Alvalle maintains a premium brand position and a relevant share, around 30% in some estimates, but the business has become crowded with rivals: from private labels to García Carrión and new Andalusian brands like García Millán, which have gained weight in recent years.

From engineering to gazpacho

But this story doesn't begin in the offices of PepsiCo, but much earlier, in a Murcia that was immersed in the process of turning its vegetable garden into the food industry. In 1990, a group of entrepreneurs launched Alimentos del Valle del Guadalentín with a pretext: if that territory excelled in its fruits and vegetables, why not process them to sell gazpacho on supermarket shelves? In 1991, they launched the first refrigerated liter gazpacho on the market.

The idea worked. In a few years, Alvalle ceased to be a local bet to become a brand with state ambition. The company grew by taking advantage of a double trend that still explains a large part of its success today: on the one hand, the search for practical products ready for consumption; on the other, the appeal of a recipe perceived as natural, fresh, and Mediterranean.

In 1999, Alvalle made the definitive leap. PepsiCo, through Tropicana, bought the Murcian company for more than 1,000 million pesetas, according to the press archives of the time. The operation fit with the North American group's strategy to go beyond soft drinks and snacks, and to strengthen its portfolio with more everyday consumer products. For Alvalle, on the other hand, it meant accessing industrial muscle, international distribution, and a scale that it could hardly have achieved on its own.

A Murcian brand, but global

With PepsiCo behind it, Alvalle became a brand with international reach. When the multinational bought it, it produced about five million liters a year; two decades later, the figure already exceeded 30 million. Gazpacho began to circulate in Europe. France was one of the key markets. There, Alvalle not only sold gazpacho, but also developed a range of cold soups adapted to local consumers. Then came other markets, such as Belgium, Portugal, Germany, the United Kingdom, and more recently, the United States. The narrative was simple and powerful: Spanish vegetables, traditional recipe, and convenience. The same argument that had served to convince the Spanish consumer became its international calling card.

The move also made sense for PepsiCo. In a group known mainly for Pepsi, Lay's, Doritos, or Cheetos, Alvalle helped strengthen a business line less associated with indulgence and more linked to daily consumption. Over the years, Alvalle has also been expanding its catalog. In 1996 it incorporated salmorejo; in 2004, mild gazpacho; in 2007, a gourmet version with almonds, and later added ajoblanco and other cold soups. Today, the brand no longer sells just a traditional recipe, but a family of products built around the same narrative: fresh vegetables, Mediterranean flavor, and immediate consumption.