PepsiCo is investing £13m ($16.7m) to upgrade a snacks plant in the UK’s West Midlands region.

The site in the city of Coventry makes the US-headquartered snacks and drinks giant’s Doritos brand of tortilla chips. The facility was the first to manufacture the line in the UK and is regarded as Europe’s largest for the brand, PepsiCo said in a statement.

PepsiCo added the cash outlay will replace an existing production line, with new equipment, including “more efficient machinery that will reduce the site's greenhouse gas emissions by over 700 tonnes a year”.

The Coventry plant also produces the Doritos Dippers line, which PepsiCo said became the first in the brand’s portfolio last year to achieve non-HFSS status.

Layla Whiting, manufacturing director for PepsiCo in the UK, said: “We’ve been perfecting the tortilla chip here in Coventry for the past three decades and I’m proud of our role in helping to build a loyal Doritos fanbase and make the brand a household name in the UK.

“This investment marks our commitment to the teams who have played such a key role in Doritos’ success over the years and to our home in Coventry as we celebrate our 30th birthday.”

Doritos generated £237m for PepsiCo in the UK in the year ended in April, the company said, based on market data.

Workers in Coventry have also benefited from the investment, with an upgrade to staff facilities, a new training centre and a refurbished canteen.

Coventry is the latest recipient for PepsiCo funding in the UK. An £8m investment was revealed in May for the company’s Pipers Crisps plant in Brigg, Lincolnshire.

Last summer, the Walkers crisps facility in Leicester received £58m for new production lines and upgrades.

PepsiCo said it has funnelled more than £140m into its UK factories since 2020. In the Midlands region, where the company also has another site in Lincoln, employs more than 2,100 people.