00:00We're the second largest food and beverage company.
00:02Consumers have become much more discerning.
00:05Affordability is absolutely critical.
00:12Hello and welcome to The Big Question.
00:15I'm Jane Witherspoon and we're bringing you this episode
00:17from the World Government Summit in Dubai.
00:20And I'm delighted today to be joined by the CEO
00:24of International Beverages at PepsiCo, Eugene Williamson.
00:28Thank you so much for joining us today.
00:30In 2025, Pepsi restructured to create your department,
00:35International Beverages.
00:36What was the key strategy behind that?
00:39And how is it doing now?
00:41The business that I run is our international beverage business.
00:44So everything outside North America,
00:46when it comes to beverages,
00:47we cover about 190 markets across the globe.
00:51It's a very diverse portfolio.
00:53So on one side of the spectrum,
00:55you have emerging markets across Africa,
00:58Asia, parts of Latin America.
01:00On the other side,
01:01you have more mature and developed markets in Europe.
01:05And it's giving us the opportunity
01:07to actually focus solely on the beverages portfolio,
01:11but also to leverage the capabilities
01:15that are required for us to compete at scale
01:18with our bottling partners
01:19in that international beverage business.
01:21Where do you see the biggest potential growth?
01:24Which market do you see that you're going to have to tap into?
01:27I would say that there's many pockets of growth,
01:30especially when you look at the developing and emerging markets.
01:34So per capita consumption for packaged beverages
01:36in developing and emerging markets is still very low
01:40when you compare it to the more developed markets.
01:42Obviously, a market like India,
01:43where there's 1.4 billion consumers,
01:46where per capita consumption is low,
01:47where we're still at the beginning of the cycle.
01:50That is a market where there's going to be
01:51a lot of growth in the years to come.
01:54But there is also a significant growth potential
01:58in markets in the Gulf.
01:59Then, of course, in Africa,
02:01but also there's growth opportunities in Europe.
02:10Now, you've been at PepsiCo for over 30 years.
02:14Oops.
02:15Oops.
02:16No, I'm sure it's been a fabulous career.
02:18No, it is, but...
02:20That's not this close to my age.
02:22How have you seen the industry change globally in that time?
02:27Yeah, obviously, it's been a massive change in the industry.
02:31So if I just look at the whole go-to market for our business,
02:35and that has evolved tremendously,
02:37you now have e-commerce,
02:38which is growing very rapidly across the world.
02:41Quick commerce, which is an offshoot of e-commerce
02:44and with the very rapid delivery.
02:46Then another big change is how digitization
02:49really has reshaped the industry,
02:52but also how we do business
02:53and, of course, how that's enabled us
02:56to become more efficient, more effective.
02:58Yeah, and then there's also been massive changes
03:01in terms of how consumers interact with brands.
03:05So when I started my career,
03:07life was pretty simple as a marketer.
03:09You had only a few channels.
03:10You created two, three big TV commercials per year.
03:14Those were broadcasted through mass media.
03:17Now, obviously, you have social media
03:20as the predominant channel
03:21with which consumers engage,
03:23but also through which consumers create their own content.
03:26But let's go back to specifically Europe.
03:29You know, what have been the key changes
03:31and the industry drivers there for PepsiCo?
03:34What we also have seen in Europe
03:35is how consumers have become much more discerning.
03:39So on one side, you've seen consumers
03:42looking for more functionality in their food,
03:45in their beverages.
03:46But on the other side also,
03:48you're seeing consumers actually
03:49being much more focused on value.
03:51And so you need to cater
03:52for all of these different needs
03:55across the portfolio.
03:57Also, what we're seeing in Europe
03:59is digitization and the impact
04:03that that has on the,
04:05especially retail sector.
04:07Europe was relatively early in that cycle,
04:10especially the UK.
04:11If you look at some of the big box retailers,
04:14a double-digit percentage of their total revenue
04:16actually are being generated through e-commerce.
04:18What other consumer trends
04:20are affecting the industry, do you think?
04:22We also see consumers across the world
04:26looking for healthier options,
04:28looking for more indulgent options.
04:31On one side, health.
04:32On the other side, indulgence, functionality.
04:35So we've been on a journey for many years
04:38reducing the amount of added sugar
04:40in our beverage portfolio.
04:42And then this notion of affordability
04:44has been important
04:45and continues to be very important
04:48for many consumers.
04:50This always has been part of our strategy.
04:53And it is absolutely critical,
04:55especially when you are building
04:57at a category in developing
04:59and emerging markets
05:00to keep that front and center.
05:01You touched on digitization earlier.
05:04Let's talk a little bit more about AI
05:06and the impact that is having on your industry.
05:08Well, AI across our company
05:10is implemented from farming
05:14to ultimately the consumer
05:16and how we engage with the consumer.
05:18So for those of you
05:21that are not that familiar with Petsico,
05:23we're the second largest food and beverage company.
05:25We have also a huge agricultural footprint.
05:29And we work with lots of farmers across the world,
05:32so about 100,000 farmers,
05:34from very large-scale farmers
05:36to small-scale farmers in India.
05:39On their smartphone,
05:40we've installed apps
05:41that enable them to improve farming practices,
05:46reduce water usage,
05:48reduce the use of fertilizer,
05:50which for us is critical
05:51as we strive to convert
05:54the agricultural land
05:56that we use to regenerate
05:57agricultural practices.
05:59But also it helps increase
06:01the yields for these farmers,
06:02so with that also the income that they earn.
06:04And then, I mean,
06:05if you look at the other side of the spectrum,
06:07so how we sell our products,
06:09for instance,
06:10in the different channels,
06:11we've implemented digital selling tools
06:14that enable our sales force
06:16to sell a broader portfolio,
06:20execute that portfolio better in the channels,
06:22but also ensure that we can track
06:26how the execution is being done
06:28and course where we need to course correct.
06:30What ESG framework do you employ at PepsiCo
06:35and how do you ensure
06:36it's not just a buzzword,
06:38that things are actually being put to use
06:41and you are reaching these goals?
06:43So we launched about seven years ago,
06:47Pep Positive,
06:48which is an integral part
06:50of our company strategy.
06:53And Pep Positive has three pillars,
06:55positive agriculture,
06:57positive value chain,
06:58and positive choices.
07:00For instance,
07:00positive agriculture,
07:01that is one example
07:02of how we've embedded it
07:04fully into our business strategy.
07:07As an example,
07:08how do you do that?
07:09You reduce water usage
07:10within your own operations,
07:12so minimize to the maximum extent possible
07:14the use of water.
07:16Let's take an example,
07:17Saudi Arabia,
07:17where we have two big snacks,
07:21foods plants,
07:23one in Riyadh,
07:24one in Dhammam.
07:25The one in Riyadh,
07:26we've provided technology solutions
07:29to alpha-alpha farmers
07:31around that plant.
07:33With that,
07:34they've been able to massively reduce
07:35their water usage.
07:36That has enabled that plant
07:38to become a net water positive plant.
07:41And that's what we're doing
07:41across the world.
07:43Eugene Williamson,
07:44thank you so much for joining us
07:45on The Big Question on Euronews.
07:47Thank you so much.
07:48Pleasure to see you.
Comments