PEPSICO, INC.: A DESCRIPTION AND AN ANALYSIS
This research provides a description and an analysis of Pepsico, Inc. The findings of the research are presented in discussions related to (1) company background, (2) major products (goods and services, (3) the competitive environment, (4) major company offices, (5) organizational structure, and (6) employment opportunities for persons newly graduated from college.
Many persons had been experimenting with a variety of ingredients for almost one hundred years, in an attempt to develop a satisfactory soft drink, when John Pemberton concocted a blend of kola nut, fruit syrup, and coca leaf extract in Columbus, Georgia in 1867.1 Pemberton did not market his new formula at the time of its discovery. It was not until 1886, after he had moved to Atlanta, that he presented the product to the public.
Pemberton was a pharmacist, and his assistant at the pharmacy accidentally mixed his formula syrup with carbonated water. Prior to this accidental mixture, Pemberton had mixed his syrup with plain water. The accidental mixture of the syrup and carbonated water, however, became Coca Cola, and the American soft drink industry was born. Soon thereafter, Dr. Pepper was introduced in Texas, and much later, in 1903, Pepsi
1L. Dietz, Soda Pop (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1973), 15.
Cola was introduced in North Carolina.3 Pepsi Cola remained one of the also rans of the industry until the 1960s, when the company began to (1) challenge Coca Cola for the leadership of the soft drink industry, and (2) engage in an aggressive acquisition program.
The company's first major acquisition was Frito Lay, and the Frito Lay division remains as the company's biggest profit maker in the early 1990s.4 During the 1960s and the 1970s, Pepsico's acquisitions extended the company's operations into sporting goods, long distance motor freight, beer, snack food, and fast food restaurants.5 During the 19...