3 Initiatives From PepsiCo

PURCHASE, N.Y. — PepsiCo Inc. will invest more than $400 million over the next five years to lift Black communities and increase Black representation at the Purchase, N.Y.-based beverage company.

PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Ramon Laguarta announced the investment after protests erupted across the country, sparked by the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, by a police officer on May 25 in Minneapolis.

The company also has plans for Pride Month, and a new product from its SodaStream brand.

Click through for details on these initiatives …

The initiatives Laguarta laid out to improve racial equality involve people, business and communities, in addition to the $400 million investment.

“We know that the first step toward change is to speak up, so I want to be very clear: Black lives matter, to our company and to me,” Laguarta said on a message on LinkedIn.

PepsiCo committed to add more than 250 Black associates to managerial roles by 2025, including adding a minimum of 100 Black executives to its executive ranks. It also will have mandatory company-wide unconscious bias training, double its spending with black-owned suppliers, accelerate its support for social programs that affect Black communities and more.

“The bottom line is: This moment calls for big, structural changes, and we’re committed to being agents of that progress. As we continue our journey, we are going to keep listening—to leaders, communities and all of our associates—and we will work to do the right thing,” Laguarta said.

PepsiCo’s sparkling water brand, bubly, held an #UnstoppablePride Parade on Saturday and posted it on its website at bubly.com/UnstoppablePride.

The virtual parade was aimed at celebrating love, elevating LGBTQ+ content and bringing the communal power of the iconic Pride parade to people everywhere, according to the company.

Bubly encouraged consumers to share their best parade strut on Instagram stories and TikTok using #UnstoppablePride. Each video shared supported bubly’s commitment to Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), a media organization that works to create positive cultural change and accelerate acceptance for the LGBTQ+ community, and The Center for Black Equity, which supports leaders, institutions and programs for health, economic and social equity for LGBTQ people of African descent.

"We are proud to partner with GLAAD and The Center for Black Equity to help build a more equitable future," said Stacy Taffet, vice president of the water portfolio for PepsiCo. "Fifty-one years ago, change happened, because Black and Latinx trans and lesbian women stood up in support of LGBTQ+ rights and helped build the foundation that the LGBTQ+ community and Pride stand on today.”

PepsiCo is expanding its SodaStream brand into away-from-home channels with SodaStream Professional. SodaStream is an at-home sparkling water maker that was acquired by PepsiCo in 2018.

With the new platform, people can digitally track their beverage intake and cut back on plastic bottles. They can also choose from various unsweetened flavors, carbonation levels and temperatures to create “the perfect drink,” according to PepsiCo. Consumers can also record their favorite drink combinations.

SodaStream Professional will roll out this fall.

Snack and beverage company PepsiCo generated more than $67 billion in net revenue in 2019. Its brands include Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana.