PepsiCo

PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational food and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the food and beverage market. It oversees the manufacturing, distribution, and marketing of its products. PepsiCo was formed in 1965 with the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company and Frito-Lay, Inc., PepsiCo has since expanded from its namesake product Pepsi to a diversified range of food and beverage brands. Significant acquisitions include Tropicana Products in 1998, the Quaker Oats Company in 2001, which added the Gatorade brand to the Pepsi portfolio, and Pioneer Foods in 2020 for US$1.7 billion. As of January 2021, the company possesses 23 brands that each have over $1 billion in sales annually. PepsiCo products were distributed across more than 200 countries and territories, resulting in annual net revenues of over US$70 billion. PepsiCo is the second-largest food and beverage business in the world based on net revenue, profit, and market capitalization, behind Nestlé. In 2023, the company's seat in the Forbes Global 2000 was 82. PepsiCo's flagship product, Pepsi Cola, has been engaged in a rivalry for generations with Coca-Cola; it is commonly referred to as the cola wars. Although Coca-Cola outsells Pepsi Cola in the United States, PepsiCo within the North American market is the largest food and beverage company by net revenue. The company's beverage distribution and bottling is conducted by PepsiCo as well as by licensed bottlers in certain regions. PepsiCo has received criticism over poor working conditions, contributing to deforestation, use of genetically modified ingredients, significant water usage, presence of pesticide residue in products, contributing to global plastic pollution, significant carbon dioxide emissions, and poor product nutrition. In 2024, PepsiCo was the second-highest producer of branded plastic pollution globally.