PURCHASE, NY. — PepsiCo, Inc. will rely on technology for growth, especially in making certain that products are in the best location to meet consumer demand, said Ramon L. Laguarta, chairman and chief executive officer.
“The next key facet of our strategy involves becoming a stronger organization by building advantaged capabilities to stay ahead of the evolving consumer marketplace and set the stage for future growth,” he said Feb. 23 in the Consumer Analyst Group of New York virtual conference. “For example, we're digitalizing our marketing and consumer insights efforts to help make our consumer engagement more effective and efficient, and we're simplifying and harmonizing our technology systems to connect and integrate various components of our global business.
“Ultimately, we strive to better leverage technology and data analytics to capture data at a more granular level and ensure we have the right products in the right location at the right place or what we refer to as precision at scale.”
PepsiCo has invested in omnichannel capabilities and gradually has scaled its direct-to-consumer platforms with brands such as Gatorade and SodaStream, Mr. Laguarta said. PepsiCo’s top five e-commerce markets in 2021 delivered over $4 billion in estimated retail sales, he added.
The pep+ program will continue to focus on how sustainability creates growth and value, he said. The program has three pillars.
“The first pillar is positive agriculture,” Mr. Laguarta said. “We're working to spread regenerative practices to restore the earth across land equal to the company's entire agricultural footprint, which is approximately 7 million acres.”
A positive value chain, the second pillar, involves achieving net zero emissions by 2040, becoming net water positive by 2030, reducing virgin plastic in packaging by 50% by 2030 and investing more than $570 million in racial equality, he said.
The third pillar, positive choices, means evolving PepsiCo’s beverage and food portfolio in a way that the products are better for the planet and consumers.
“We'll continue to invest in people and technology and build advantaged omnichannel, data and analytics and consumer insights capabilities, while also making targeted IT investments to modernize and harmonize our systems,” Mr. Laguarta said. “We believe these investments will yield opportunities for growth and contribute to our target of at least $1 billion in annual productivity savings through 2026.”
