Pepsi is a brand that we see quite often. At any party or gathering, there typically is some sort
of pop, and typically Pepsi is one of the pop options. While pop is one of the largest components of
Pepsi, there is an entire, sometimes not as obvious, world that Pepsi also oversees. Pepsi-Cola was
originally created by Caleb Bradham in 1898. People liked the drink so much that Bradham incorporated
the Pepsi-Cola Company in 1902. The company went through several ups and downs. They struggled
especially during World War I. However, in 1965, the CEO of Pepsi-Cola, Donald Kendall, met with the
CEO of Frito-Lay, Herman Lay, in order to see if the two companies could merge. Both companies
agreed that the merging of Pepsi and Frito-Lay would simply be a “marriage made in heaven.” The
combination of thee two companies soon became one of the world’s leading food and beverage
companies. They named the combination of these two companies as PepsiCo, which is the name that
has stuck till today.
PepsiCo quickly moved to be recognized globally. According to their website, they are “one of
the world’s most-respected companies with products sold in more than 200 countries and territories
and 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in annual retail sales.” They currently have six
different divisions: PepsiCo Beverages North America, Frito-Lay North America, Quaker Foods North
America, Quaker Foods Latin America, Quaker Foods Europe Sub-Saharan Africa, and Quaker Foods Asia,
Middle East and North Africa. MORE??
PepsiCo is still one of the leading snack and beverage companies in the food industry. In
addition to simply merging Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay, PepsiCo has merged with several other companies.
Recently, PepsiCo has merged with Quaker, Gatorade, and Tropicana in order to diversify their options
for their consumers.