ABOUT THIS COMPANY

ABOUT THIS COMPANY

Nice can

PepsiCo, based in New York, is known for being the No. 2 soft-drink maker behind Coca-Cola. What isn't commonly known, however, is that in 2005, 67 percent of Pepsi revenue came from non-carbonated beverages. While Pepsi may have lost a few rounds in the cola battles to Coca-Cola, the company is No. 1 in several other categories: sport drinks and enhanced water (including Gatorade, which controls 79 percent of the sport drink market), bottled water (Aquafina), chilled juice (Tropicana), bottled coffees and teas (under the Starbucks and Lipton names), potato chips (Lay's), tortilla chips (Doritos), corn chips (Fritos), extruded snacks (Cheetos), hot cereal and grits (Quaker), and pancake syrup and mix (the venerable Aunt Jemima). Pepsi has hundreds of other brands, which can be found in almost 200 countries around the world.

Similar to how its main rival, Coca-Cola, operates, PepsiCo makes beverage concentrates, sells them to independent bottlers (which in turn sell the finished beverages in about 170 countries) and oversees product promotion. Its own bottling operations were spun off in 1999 as the Pepsi Bottling Group. While the company is best known for producing its eponymous cola, the company has made a big decision to downplay Pepsi-Cola and pour its energies into making Diet Pepsi its flagship product. The move, according to a March 2005 article in The Wall Street Journal, came about because sales of Pepsi-Cola have declined, while public interest in healthier, low-fat foods and beverages has presented a prime opportunity to strengthen the Diet Pepsi brand. Pepsi's use of hip, young celebrities like Beyonce and the Black Eyed Peas to pitch its drinks is only likely to increase its marketability.

Fizzy, fizzy Asia

Pepsi has a substantial presence across Asia with key markets in Australia, India, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, China, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.  In 2007, the company reported USD$4.7 billion in revenue from combined sales in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, roughly 12 percent of its total yearly take.  Pepsi also reported double-digit growth in non-sugar colas for nearly all of its Asian markets in 2007.  According to Michael White, Pepsi's international unit chief executive, emerging markets such as China and India contribute to 60 percent of the growth of the company's international business.  Pepsi's Asia Pacific operations are overseen by its PepsiCo International division, headquartered in Hong Kong.

In China, the world's fifth-largest carbonated soft drink market, Pepsi has invested more than USD$1 billion to date and has a higher market share than Coca-Cola in major cities like Shanghai and Beijing.  Pepsi has also claimed that it has captured a larger market share than Coca-Cola in Thailand, although the rival company disputes these claims.  In any case, Pepsi is investing heavily in the Asia Pacific region to further boost sales.  The company has invested USD$700 million to date in India, and announced plans in 2008 to invest another USD$500 million over the next three years.  

Blue soda cans in a land of red

Pepsi was one of the first international companies to set up shop in China after the country initiated market reforms and opened itself to foreign investment.  Today, Pepsi is also one of the biggest foreign employers in China, employing 10,000 people through more than 40 subsidiaries.  The company sells a number of brands in China including its namesake, 7 Up, Mirinda, Mountain Dew and Dole Juice.  China is now the world's fifth-largest market for carbonated soft drinks, and sales for both sodas and non-carbonated drinks are growing.