PepsiCo, Inc.

Open full sized image

A can of Pepsi.

TM and © adidas, all rights reserved/ TM and © PepsiCo, Inc., all rights reserved/PRNewsFoto/AP Images

PepsiCo, Inc., based in Purchase, New York, is one of the world’s largest food and beverage companies. PepsiCo is known for its Frito-Lay snack food brands, soft drinks under its Gatorade, Mountain Dew, and namesake Pepsi brands, and cereal products under its Quaker Oats subsidiary.

The PepsiCo name is deeply embedded within American pop culture. It emerged in 1965, when the Pepsi-Cola Company merged with Frito-Lay, Inc.

PepsiCo’s business structure includes seven divisions: three in North America and the remaining four in various regions around the world. The company has a history of steady growth and stability, having raised its dividend each year for more than 50 years, making it what’s known as a dividend king. As of 2023, PepsiCo brands—present in over 200 countries—serve over a billion customers each day.

The first Pepsi-Cola was created by Caleb D. Bradham (1866–1934), a pharmacist in New Bern, North Carolina. Hoping to duplicate the recent success of Coca-Cola, Bradham named his sweet cola-flavored carbonated beverage Pepsi-Cola in 1898. The drink proved so popular that in 1902 Bradham incorporated the Pepsi-Cola Company.

The first few decades would be marked by periods of growth and setback:

In 1941 the Pepsi-Cola Company was merged into Loft, and the name Loft, Inc. was changed to the Pepsi-Cola Company.

In 1950 Alfred N. Steele (1901–59), a former vice president of the Coca-Cola Company and the husband of actress Joan Crawford, became chief executive officer. His emphasis on giant advertising campaigns and sales promotions increased Pepsi-Cola’s net earnings elevenfold during the 1950s and made it the chief competitor of Coca-Cola. (After Steele’s death, Crawford became an active director of the company.)

The next few decades would be dedicated to growth through acquisition.

Open full sized image

Pepsi-Cola advertisement.

Pepsi-Cola Company

With the Quaker merger, PepsiCo’s popular brands at the turn of the century included Pepsi cola, Frito-Lay snack products, Lipton Tea, Tropicana juices, Gatorade sports drinks, Quaker Oats cereals, and Rold Gold pretzels. In the early 21st century, the company shifted its focus:

PepsiCo has also strived over the decades to tailor its branding and brand marketing to local and regional markets, either through acquisition or through new brands or products. Global brands include Walkers potato crisps (U.K.), Sabritas chips, nuts, and other salty snacks (Mexico), Uncle Chipps potato chips (India), Matutano snack foods (Spain), The Smith’s Snackfood Company (Australia), and Gamesa cookies (Mexico and South America).

In 1950 Alfred N. Steele (1901–59), a former vice president of the Coca-Cola Company and the husband of actress Joan Crawford, became chief executive officer. His emphasis on giant advertising campaigns and sales promotions increased Pepsi-Cola’s net earnings 11-fold during the 1950s and made it the chief competitor of Coca-Cola. (After Steele’s death, his wife, actress Joan Crawford, became an active director of the company.) In 1965 Pepsi-Cola merged with Frito-Lay, Inc., the maker of snack foods such as Fritos, Doritos, Lay’s potato chips, and Rold Gold pretzels. The newly enlarged company diversified further with the purchase of three restaurant chains—Pizza Hut, Inc. (1977), Taco Bell Inc. (1978), and Kentucky Fried Chicken Corp. (1986; now called KFC)—and Seven-Up International (1986), but in 1997 the restaurant chains were spun off into a new, separate company called Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc. Looking to add more products that were considered healthier, PepsiCo acquired the Tropicana and Dole juice brands from the Seagram Company in 1998, and in 2001 it merged with the Quaker Oats company to form a new division, Quaker Foods and Beverages. With the merger, PepsiCo’s popular brands included Pepsi cola, Frito-Lay snack products, Lipton Tea, Tropicana juices, Gatorade sports drinks, Quaker Oats cereals, and Rold Gold pretzels.

PepsiCo has been involved in several controversies in the early 21st century:

PepsiCo has advertised its efforts to be more environmentally and socially friendly, touting what it calls “performance with a purpose”—investments in racial equality, commitments to better water and land use, and a target of 100% renewable energy by 2030.

Open full sized image

The Denver Nuggets play basketball and the Colorado Avalanche play hockey at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado.

© Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau

From its humble late-19th century roots to its 21st century place as a top global food and beverage conglomerate with a presence in more than 200 countries, PepsiCo has strived to grow its reach through product innovation, strategic acquisition, and dynamic marketing aimed at linking hearts, minds, and taste buds. Although its product lineup skews more toward flavor than nutrition, the company has demonstrated a willingness to adapt its brands to changing—and regional—tastes and preferences.