4 ms·

Pepsi Once Owned the World’s 6th Largest Military Fleet

48 points by BerislavLopac 6y ago

tomohawk 6y ago
Pepsi' Frito division sells $12.5B worth of chips annually https://www.forbes.com/companies/frito-lay/#2abba8be30bf https://www.forbes.com/companies/frito-lay/#2abba8be30bf In comparison, it's expected $11B will be spent on the US Presidential election. https://abc7.com/2020-election-campaign-spending-trump-biden/6697255/ https://abc7.com/2020-election-campaign-spending-trump-biden... That's a lot of money, but its still less than we spend on chips.
dpeck 6y ago
Related shill: PepsiCo setup an eCommerce business unit about 3 years ago that is forward thinking on technology and rapidly growing. During the pandemic we launched snacks.com and pantryshop.com. Our group’s leadership has some very experienced folks with experience in big brands and successful startups. We’ve got a lot of python and elixir in use on the teams, folks working remotely, and generally solid team of good engineers. If you’re looking for a new opportunity check out the eCommerce jobs on PepsiCo.com, comp, benefits, and work-life balance are a great mix.
- lern_too_spel 6y ago
  "Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life, or do you want to come with me and change the world?" "Well, actually, we also sell salty snacks."
  - dpeck 6y ago
    Plenty of other things too as the product catalog is quite large, but yes. To each their own, I find using my skills to help make/sell food that gives people some simple joy and a bit of sustenance satisfying.
    - lioeters 6y ago
      > simple joy and a bit of sustenance I appreciate you providing a different perspective, and being open about affiliation. But this marketing-speak is hilarious!
    - thatguy0900 6y ago
      "simple joy and a bit of sustenance" read food chemically engineered to be as addicting as possible with any nutrition long since processed out
- chaosbutters314 6y ago
  please do not work for pepsi. they do not appreciate talent. i have a company award from the ceo Ramon and was paid s&$t. they do not care about their people. i worked there for almost 4 years, literally saving them 100s of millions with process engineering inventions and was paid like an intern. so happy i left. i saw coworkers get passed up for someone outside the org. do not work for pepsi.
- hobby-coder-guy 6y ago
  What is so special about snacks.com? Looks like a standard shopify site.
jrexilius 6y ago
This was an entertaining read. It's also a lesson on how important it is for global trade and commerce to have a reserve currency.
anm89 6y ago
Several people claim that despite all of the good sources claiming this, it is demonstrably false: One good one https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nqCSxyudKHY https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nqCSxyudKHY
toast0 6y ago
And yet, they didn't win the cola wars.
interestica 6y ago
> 17 Soviet submarines and 3 battleships. So Pepsi didn't have any Harrier jets... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_v._Pepsico,_Inc https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_v._Pepsico,_Inc. https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp2/88/116/2579076/ https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp2/...
watersb 6y ago
When I was on a tour in the Soviet Union in 1990, Pepsi and the fruit soda brand Fanta were everywhere. I hadn't seen Fanta soda since the 1970s in the United States, but then the hotels and the automobiles looked like the 70s to me, too. There was television in the hotel rooms, and after figuring out how to flush the toilet, we'd get the TV on, and I would try to soak up as much Russian as I could manage before dinner. There was no advertising as such, not self-contained 30-second video. For there was as yet no widespread, rabid retail domestic market... But there was product placement. The game show host would read the question, contestants would try to answer, then they would all toss back the refreshing, bubbly delight that was Pepsi Cola. The newscaster would present the lead story, a bottle of Pepsi ready at hand. The ecstatic race car driver and his crew would chug some Pepsi as they celebrated thier victory. It was a different time. It really happened.
- FindMySocks 6y ago
  That sounds like the level of product placement that happens on Chinese TV shows these days (especially game shows/reality shows.)

48 points by BerislavLopac 6y ago

Pepsi' Frito division sells $12.5B worth of chips annually https://www.forbes.com/companies/frito-lay/#2abba8be30bf https://www.forbes.com/companies/frito-lay/#2abba8be30bf In comparison, it's expected $11B will be spent on the US Presidential election. https://abc7.com/2020-election-campaign-spending-trump-biden/6697255/ https://abc7.com/2020-election-campaign-spending-trump-biden... That's a lot of money, but its still less than we spend on chips.

dpeck 6y ago

Related shill: PepsiCo setup an eCommerce business unit about 3 years ago that is forward thinking on technology and rapidly growing. During the pandemic we launched snacks.com and pantryshop.com. Our group’s leadership has some very experienced folks with experience in big brands and successful startups. We’ve got a lot of python and elixir in use on the teams, folks working remotely, and generally solid team of good engineers. If you’re looking for a new opportunity check out the eCommerce jobs on PepsiCo.com, comp, benefits, and work-life balance are a great mix.

lern_too_spel 6y ago
"Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life, or do you want to come with me and change the world?" "Well, actually, we also sell salty snacks."
- dpeck 6y ago
  Plenty of other things too as the product catalog is quite large, but yes. To each their own, I find using my skills to help make/sell food that gives people some simple joy and a bit of sustenance satisfying.
  - lioeters 6y ago
    > simple joy and a bit of sustenance I appreciate you providing a different perspective, and being open about affiliation. But this marketing-speak is hilarious!
  - thatguy0900 6y ago
    "simple joy and a bit of sustenance" read food chemically engineered to be as addicting as possible with any nutrition long since processed out
chaosbutters314 6y ago
please do not work for pepsi. they do not appreciate talent. i have a company award from the ceo Ramon and was paid s&$t. they do not care about their people. i worked there for almost 4 years, literally saving them 100s of millions with process engineering inventions and was paid like an intern. so happy i left. i saw coworkers get passed up for someone outside the org. do not work for pepsi.
hobby-coder-guy 6y ago
What is so special about snacks.com? Looks like a standard shopify site.

jrexilius 6y ago

This was an entertaining read. It's also a lesson on how important it is for global trade and commerce to have a reserve currency.

anm89 6y ago

Several people claim that despite all of the good sources claiming this, it is demonstrably false: One good one https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nqCSxyudKHY https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nqCSxyudKHY

toast0 6y ago

And yet, they didn't win the cola wars.

interestica 6y ago

> 17 Soviet submarines and 3 battleships. So Pepsi didn't have any Harrier jets... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_v._Pepsico,_Inc https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_v._Pepsico,_Inc. https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp2/88/116/2579076/ https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp2/...

watersb 6y ago

When I was on a tour in the Soviet Union in 1990, Pepsi and the fruit soda brand Fanta were everywhere. I hadn't seen Fanta soda since the 1970s in the United States, but then the hotels and the automobiles looked like the 70s to me, too. There was television in the hotel rooms, and after figuring out how to flush the toilet, we'd get the TV on, and I would try to soak up as much Russian as I could manage before dinner. There was no advertising as such, not self-contained 30-second video. For there was as yet no widespread, rabid retail domestic market... But there was product placement. The game show host would read the question, contestants would try to answer, then they would all toss back the refreshing, bubbly delight that was Pepsi Cola. The newscaster would present the lead story, a bottle of Pepsi ready at hand. The ecstatic race car driver and his crew would chug some Pepsi as they celebrated thier victory. It was a different time. It really happened.

FindMySocks 6y ago
That sounds like the level of product placement that happens on Chinese TV shows these days (especially game shows/reality shows.)