PepsiCo

PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational food and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. The company oversees the manufacturing, distribution, and marketing of its products across all aspects of the food and beverage market. Formed in 1965 through the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company and Frito-Lay, Inc., PepsiCo has grown from its namesake product, Pepsi, into a diversified portfolio of food and beverage brands. Major acquisitions have included Tropicana Products in 1998, the Quaker Oats Company in 2001—which brought the Gatorade brand into the fold—and Pioneer Foods in 2020 for US$1.7 billion. As of January 2021, the company owned 23 brands each generating over $1 billion in annual sales. Its products are distributed across more than 200 countries and territories, yielding annual net revenues exceeding US$70 billion. By net revenue, profit, and market capitalization, PepsiCo is the second-largest food and beverage business globally, behind Nestlé. In 2023, it ranked 82nd on the Forbes Global 2000. PepsiCo’s flagship product, Pepsi Cola, has long been locked in a generational rivalry with Coca-Cola, a contest commonly known as the cola wars. While Coca-Cola outsells Pepsi Cola in the United States, PepsiCo is the largest food and beverage company by net revenue within the North American market. The company handles its own beverage distribution and bottling, though licensed bottlers operate in certain regions. PepsiCo has faced criticism over poor working conditions, deforestation, use of genetically modified ingredients, high water usage, pesticide residue in products, plastic pollution, carbon dioxide emissions, and poor product nutrition. In 2024, it was the second-highest producer of branded plastic pollution globally.