In 1965, PepsiCo acquired Frito-Lay in what the chairmen of both companies called a “marriage made in heaven”. The resultant company transformed PepsiCo from a soft drink organization and set it on a path to becoming one of the world’s leading food and beverage companies. Today, PepsiCo claims to operate in more than 200 countries and territories around the world with seven distinct divisions and many successful brands.
The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is generally accepted as PepsiCo’s largest competitor.
The company enjoys superior brand recognition and equity worldwide, though an exclusive focus on beverages means Coca-Cola has a slightly less diversified product portfolio than Pepsi. Nevertheless, the Coca-Cola beverage itself outsells the Pepsi equivalent in some markets. The company also owns more than 500 beverage brands in various categories, including soft drinks, water, juices, coffee, and sports drinks.
Competition between the two is particularly intense in North America, where Coca-Cola earns almost 35% of its total net operating revenue. Maintaining market share in the United States is important for PepsiCo since almost 33% of its total revenue comes from North American beverage sales alone.
Keurig Dr Pepper
Keurig Dr Pepper is an American beverage and beverage-making conglomerate selling sodas, juices, and other drinks.
Like The Coca-Cola Company, Keurig Dr Pepper has a strong presence in North America. In 2020, the total United States market share equated to 21.1%.
The company has a portfolio of more than 125 owned, licensed, partnered, and allied brands. These include Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Dr Pepper, Sunkist, Schweppes, Snapple, Vita Coco, Clamato, and Swiss Miss.
Kellogg’s
Kellogg’s is an American multinational food manufacturing company founded by Will Keith Kellogg in 1906.
Kellogg’s competes with PepsiCo-owned Quaker Foods Company in the breakfast food market. In addition to traditional cereals, Kellogg’s produces cookies, crackers, protein bars, frozen waffles, and fruit-flavored snacks.
In 2012, Kellogg’s became the world’s second-largest snack food company after PepsiCo when it purchased the Pringles brand from Procter & Gamble for $2.7 billion.
Mondelez International
Mondelez International is an American confectionery, food, and beverage company founded in 1923 by Thomas H. McInnerney as Kraft Foods Inc.
In 2012, Kraft Foods Inc was renamed Mondelez while retaining its snack food business. The international company has several billion-dollar components, including Oreo, Toblerone, and powdered-beverage brand Tang.
Mondelez also owns several cookie and cracker brands that compete with PepsiCo’s dip, potato chip, rice, pasta-based snacks and ready-to-eat meals.
Monster Beverage Corporation
In the energy drinks market, Monster Beverage Corporation is a noteworthy player. Recent figures suggest the company held nearly 39% of the $5.7 billion energy drink market in the United States.
There are around 39 different drinks under the Monster brand in North America. Like competitor Red Bull, the company has aggressively marketed its products by affiliating itself with extreme sports events. Monster also has a strong presence in the music industry, supporting the world tours of many famous artists.
Monster’s typically high-caffeine drinks compete directly with Pepsi-owned Gatorade and a recently released line of Mountain Dew energy drinks.
Key takeaways:
- After acquiring Frito-Lay in 1965, PepsiCo became much more than a simple soft drink company. Today, the company is a leading beverage and snack producer, operating in most of the world’s countries and territories.
- The Coca-Cola Company is the most significant threat to Pepsi’s success, with a more valuable brand and higher market share in the crucial North American market. Similarly, Keurig Dr Pepper with its 21% beverage market share is also a significant player.
- Kellogg’s and Mondelez International are two of Pepsi’s largest competitors in the snack food industry. In the lucrative energy drink industry, Monster Beverage Corporation has almost 40% of the market cornered.
Read Also: Coca-Cola Business Model, Coca-Cola SWOT Analysis, Coca-Cola PESTEL Analysis, Coca-Cola’s Business And Distribution Strategy, Coca-Cola Mission Statement and Vision Statement, Coca-Cola Vs. Pepsi, What Does Coca-Cola Own, Coca-Cola Competitors, Business Model Of The PepsiCo.
Read Next: Pestel Analysis, SWOT Analysis, Porter’s Five Forces, STEEP Analysis, SOAR Analysis, BCG Matrix, Ansoff Matrix.
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