History of PepsiCo
In 1893, in Bourne, North Carolina, USA, a young pharmacist, Caleb Bradham, experimented with a new flavor that was loved by soda counter customers. He accidentally invented a carbonated drink made from a mixture of cola fruit, vanilla and precious essential oils, named "Brad Drink". On August 28, 1898, Kolbe renamed it "Pepsi-Cola," a drink that performs a pepsin-like function that aids digestion. In 1902, Corby founded the Pepsi Company. At first, Kolbe mixed the slurry himself and sold it through the soda counter. Later, he realized that there was a huge business opportunity to fill Pepsi so that people everywhere could enjoy it.
Some 70 years later, PepsiCo merged with snack food giant Frito-lay in 1965 and officially changed its name to PepsiCo. Beginning in 1977, PepsiCo entered the fast food industry, bringing Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC under its wing, reaching the peak of diversification.
In order to return the marketing focus to beverages and snack foods, PepsiCo made a major strategic adjustment in October 1997 to secede the restaurant businesses with Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC from the company, making it an independent public company, Yum Global Inc. (now known as Yum!).
Over the years, PepsiCo has continued to innovate to meet the needs of the market while ensuring good financial performance. In 1998, PepsiCo acquired the world-famous Tropicana juice beverage company, which greatly enriched the product line. In 2001, PepsiCo merged with the world-renowned food company Quaker and, through this acquisition, incorporated the first-class sports drink brand Gatorade under the umbrella of PepsiCo. In 1992, PepsiCo formed a strategic partnership with Thomas J. Lipton to produce Lipton, a ready-to-drink tea beverage brand in the North American market, and in 2003, it launched the largest and most successful ready-to-drink tea partnership in the North American market globally.
PepsiCo
In 2010, PepsiCo also acquired two of its largest bottling plants, PepsiCo Bottling Group (PBG) and PepsiCo Americas (PA), an acquisition that greatly strengthened PepsiCo's beverage business in North America and Europe.
In 2011, PepsiCo acquired Wim Bill Dan, a leading Russian food and beverage brand, for $4.2 billion. The acquisition makes PepsiCo the largest food and beverage producer in Russia and a leader in the country's fast-growing dairy market, while enabling PepsiCo to excel in key markets in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The acquisition also increases PepsiCo's annual global revenue from $10 billion today to approximately $13 billion, and further meets its strategic target of $30 billion by 2020.
