PepsiCo - A major beverage and food company

PepsiCo is one of the world's biggest manufacturers of beverages, snack foods, cereals, and convenience foods and ready meals, with 18 of its brands each generating at least $1 billion (£603 million) in yearly sales.

The US company's best known product is its Pepsi Cola range and it also makes potato chips, juice and energy drinks, and oatmeal breakfast items under the Frito-Lay, Tropicana, Gatorade and Quaker brands.

It has operations in almost 200 countries and has made a marked shift towards healthy and environmentally-friendly products in the last few years.

PepsiCo's history stretches back to the late 19th century.

Key categories and brands

PepsiCo operates in the beverages, cereals, snack foods, and convenience foods and ready meals segments through five main brands - Pepsi, Frito-Lay, Tropicana, Gatorade and Quaker - with each having numerous sub-brands.

The company produces its flagship cola products under the Pepsi banner, with the original Pepsi and Diet Pepsi versions being the most popular.

In the North American market, other products in the Pepsi range include Pepsi Max and the caffeine-free, lime, vanilla and cherry versions of the cola drink.

The Pepsi division also makes the Mountain Dew range of soft drinks, lemon-lime beverage Sierra Mist, Aquafina bottled water, the No Fear Motherload energy supplement drink, SoBe juice drinks and teas, and Tropicana sodas and lemonades in North America.

Internationally, the Pepsi unit produces drinks such as Mirinda, 7UP, Pepsi Limon, Kas, Teem, Manzanita Sol, Paso de los Toros, Fruko, Evervess, Yedigun, Shani, Fiesta and Radical Fruit.

Frito-Lay is PepsiCo's convenience foods unit. In North America, the main products it makes include the Lay's range of potato chips, Ruffles crisps, Doritos and Tostitos tortilla chips, Fritos corn chips, Cracker Jack popcorn, Grandma's cookies, Frito-Lay nuts and Cheetos.

For the global market, Frito-Lay also produces Walkers crisps, Niknaks and Quavers potato snacks, Fandangos corn snacks, Doritos Dippas, Wotsits, Walkers Sensations and Gamesa cookies.

PepsiCo's Tropicana business manufactures a wide range of fruit juices. Under the Tropicana banner, these include Pure Premium, Twister, Smoothies, Pure Tropics and 100 juices. It also licenses the Dole name to make juices under this brand and additionally produces Naked Juice items.

Tropicana's international products include Tropicana Touche de Lait, Alvalle gazpacho fruit juices and vegetable juices, Tropicana Season's Best juices and juice drinks, Looza juices and nectars, Copella juices and Frui'Vita juices.

The Quaker brand is over 100 years old and produces a range of cereals and other items. In North America, these consist of Quaker Oatmeal and Instant Oatmeal, the Cap'n Crunch, Quisp and Life cereals and Quaker grits.

It also makes Aunt Jemima mixes and syrups, Quaker rice cakes, Rice-A-Roni and Pasta Roni side dishes, Puffed Wheat, Harvest Crunch cereal, Quaker Baking Mixes and Spudz snacks.

The Gatorade unit produces a range of drinks designed to rehydrate and boost energy levels, especially following intense physical activity. It was created by University of Florida researchers in the 1960s for the Gators football team, who could get dehydrated while playing in the state's hot, humid conditions.

Gatorade Thirst Quencher, Gatorade Tiger G2 and Propel Fit Water are the main drinks made by the brand, both in North America and for international markets.

Overall, PepsiCo's $1 billion brands are Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Lay's, Diet Pepsi, Tropicana, Doritos, Lipton (through a partnership with Unilever), Quaker, Cheetos, 7UP, Ruffles, Aquafina, Mirinda, Tostitos, Sierra Mist, Walkers and Fritos.

Company information

PepsiCo was founded in 1898. It became the single largest selling soft drink brand sold in US supermarkets in 1976 and passed the $3 billion revenue mark the following year - it now makes in excess of $43 billion in annual sales. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PEP.