With the news of Indra Nooyi stepping down as the CEO of PepsiCo on October 03rd this year, it is interesting to look back and see how Indra Nooyi not only successfully guarded the position of Pepsico as world’s largest beverage company but also came up with new strategies in the world of growing health awareness.
Performance With Purpose:
As a person who believes that CEOs must focus on shapes, not numbers; her decision of introducing healthy snacks: baked chips, probiotic drinks, zero sugar version of drinks in the Pepsi world has shot two birds with the same stone. In a world where obesity rates are rising alarmingly, this step is indeed a healthy step taken towards a healthy society. Besides, the sales of ‘good-for-you’ and ‘better-for-you’ snacks have increased from thirty-eight percent in 2006 to fifty percent in 2017.
Bringing the smaller size of chips packets, soda bottles, lower salt and fat content in beverages mirrors her quote: “Let’s be a good industry that does hundred percent of what it can – not grudgingly, but willingly.
Acquisition:
Indra Nooyi had played an important role in the acquisition of Tropicana and QuakerOats in 1998 and 2000 respectively. The $ 3.3 billion deal with Tropicana placed it in direct competition with Cola and the acquisition with Quaker gave the company the control of Gatorade – a popular and lucrative sports drink.
The Frito Lays Unit:
Doritos, Lays, and Smartfood units have given Pepsi world dominance in the snacks category. They command sixty-six percent of the domestic market.
International Expansion
By expanding sales and targeting the developing nations throughout the globe, the net revenues from Asia, North Africa, Middle East and Latin America rose to twenty-one percent.
Decision Against Demerger:
In 2014, Nelson Peltz attempted to have the unhealthy beverage unit and the healthy snack unit to be separated and managed by different people. However, Nooyi considered that it was essential to keep all the units together to uphold the position of Pepsico as one of the largest food and beverage companies of the world.
