PepsiCo Gets Healthier

The company is focusing more attention on its healthful products for future growth.

February 16, 2017

PURCHASE, N.Y. – PepsiCo won’t be jettisoning Mountain Dew or Cheetos, but it will be pushing its healthful brands portfolio more rigorously in the face of a disappointing forecast for this year, Bloomberg reports. The food and beverage company’s low-cal drinks and products with a healthier sheen now bring in 45% of its revenue.

Investors are looking to push those healthful items in an effort to shore up company profits. To that end, last month, PepsiCo announced that Lisa Mann, a former Kraft/Mondelez executive and Kind marketer, would helm the global nutrition division, which focuses on the long-term plans for the company’s healthier brands, such as Tropicana, Naked and Quaker.

The “everyday nutrition” category, which encompasses unsweetened teas, water and healthier snacks, represents a quarter of PepsiCo’s sales. The company’s focus will be on “lower sugar, lower salt, lower fat … while Pepsi-Cola is becoming a smaller part of the mix,” CFO Hugh Johnston said.

PepsiCo also has agreed to buy KeVita (fermented probiotic beverages), and has also introduced a line of healthy vending machines and an organic version of Gatorade. In October, the company pledged to reduce calories in its soft drinks by 2025. It’s also pushing premium water brand LIFEWTR.

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