PepsiCo Goes Dairy
PepsiCo, the maker of Pepsi and a whole bevy of instantly recognizable brands such as Frito-Lay, Tropicana and Quaker Oats, is looking to dairy products and ingredients to more than double its revenues in the next decade.
And that’s saying something, since 15 of its brands have annual revenues exceeding $1 billion. "Every week, one billion people buy PepsiCo products around the world," says Sam Lteif, general manager of the company’s global nutrition group.
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Over the next decade, Lteif says, the potential to grow dairy products globally is more than double that of the next two largest food categories—bakery and chilled processed foods—combined.
The reason: Dairy fits the nutritional needs of everyone—from children and teenagers (for growth and development) all the way through the elderly (for bone health and other key nutrients).
PepsiCo will not enter the commodity businesses of fluid milk and butter. Rather, the company will look to dairy ingredients and new product development to fill specific nutritional niches.
"PepsiCo’s plan for new products will be staple foods that meet a consumer need every day, and not a treat that they consume once in a while," Lteif says. The "unlock," he adds, is nutritious, healthy foods that taste good.
In Africa, it might be a drinkable milk or yogurt; in India, a protein snack that is so affordable it can be purchased by the masses; and in more developed countries, high-end, value-added products that offer nutrition, taste and convenience. In the U.S., for example, consumption of yogurt is just one-fourth to one-third that of Europe.
In Russia, PepsiCo recently purchased Wimm-Bill-Dann, which gives the company immediate access to Russian grocery outlets. Wimm-Bill-Dann already offers unique and innovative products in drinkable milk, kids’ yogurt and puddings. These products have the potential to be expanded globally.
