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Tag: Jane Wakely

  • PepsiCo’s new brand identity swaps its stripes for smiles

    PepsiCo’s new brand identity swaps its stripes for smiles

    NEW YORK: PepsiCo has binned the branding it has worn for a quarter-century. Out with the old, in with the grin. The company’s fresh corporate identity, unveiled on 28 October, marks its biggest visual shake-up since the turn of the millennium—a deliberate signal that this is no longer just the fizzy-drinks firm your parents knew.

    Sixty years after Pepsi merged with Lay’s, the empire has swelled to more than 500 brands—Tostitos, Gatorade, Quaker, Siete, poppi—and 300,000 employees. It peddles snacks and beverages from Kansas corner shops to Cairo kitchens, from São Paulo’s streets to Shanghai’s stores. Yet only 21 per cent of consumers can name a PepsiCo brand beyond Pepsi itself. Chairman and chief executive Ramon Laguarta reckons the rebrand will fix that. “Our new identity boldly reflects who we are in 2025: a company with expansive reach, aiming for positive impact across the globe,” he says.

    The new logo plants a “P” at its centre, hemmed in by shapes representing consumer focus, sustainability and taste. A custom typeface in lower case softens the corporate edge. The colour palette draws from earth tones and vivid hues—soil, drinks, planet, people. And lurking beneath it all: a smile. That grin anchors the company’s new three-word mantra: “Food. Drinks. Smiles.”

    Chief consumer and marketing officer and chief growth officer for international foods  Jane Wakely calls it “a beautiful expression of both who we are as a company today and our aspiration for the future.” The smile, she insists, signals an “obsession with consumers” that will fuel growth.

    The rebrand will roll out gradually across PepsiCo.com, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok, then seep into packaging, workplaces and signage worldwide. Whether it prompts consumers to smile back—or simply reach for a rival’s crisps—remains to be seen.

  • PepsiCo names Ram Krishnan as CEO, international beverages

    PepsiCo names Ram Krishnan as CEO, international beverages

    Mumbai: Global snacks and beverage company PepsiCo has promoted Ram Krishnan, currently serving as chief commercial officer, to the newly created role of CEO, international beverages and chief commercial officer.

    The company also appointed Jane Wakely as executive vice president (EVP), chief consumer and marketing officer and chief growth officer (CGO), international foods.

    Both executives will report to PepsiCo chairman and CEO Ramon Laguarta.

    Krishnan, a 15-year PepsiCo veteran, will focus on driving accelerated growth for the international beverages business, including the company’s international franchise bottlers, with an end-to-end focus on brand-building, innovation, supply chain, digitalisation, talent, and sustainability. He will also be charged with leading faster growth for the SodaStream and Beyond the Bottle businesses, as well as the Pepsi Lipton partnership, the company’s joint venture with Unilever.

    This move, effective January 1, 2022, will bring PepsiCo’s critical beverage expertise and commercial capabilities into one group, with an eye toward optimising the end-to-end operating model, capital allocations and building new capabilities. Krishnan will continue to oversee the company’s e-commerce business and global commercial capabilities, said the statement.

    “Ram has been an incredibly effective leader for our commercial agenda,” said Laguarta. “With this newly created role, he will bring focus and a proven formula for success to drive faster growth for our International Beverages business.”

    Wakely brings to the company an intense focus on consumers, insights and building best-in-class brand and category growth strategies.

    In this new role, she will focus on driving accelerated growth by elevating PepsiCo’s consumer-centricity, innovation, brand, and marketing capabilities. As CGO – international foods, Wakely will be responsible for accelerating the Positive Choices pillar of pep+ (PepsiCo Positive), which includes evolving the company’s portfolio into new spaces that are better for the planet and people by developing products with more diverse ingredients, such as plant-based proteins, nuts and seeds, and whole grains.

    “Jane is a creative and commercially-oriented marketer who is passionate about purpose and innovation as critical growth levers,” said Ramon Laguarta. “She has a proven track record of success, and I am confident that with her leadership, we will take our consumer-centricity, innovation, brand, and marketing strategies and capabilities, and International Foods growth to a new level.”

    Wakely joins PepsiCo with 28 years of marketing experience at Procter & Gamble and at Mars, where since 2019 she served as lead CMO and CMO of Pet Nutrition, one of the largest divisions of Mars’ $40 billion portfolio. She was previously global CMO of its chocolate division. She has operated globally and in highly complex product categories, brands, and businesses across a variety of growth, turnaround, and transformation challenges.

    “PepsiCo is a marketing powerhouse known for its commitment to innovation and world-class, consumer-focused brands,” said Wakely. “I look forward to working with my future colleagues to delight consumers with new propositions and purpose-driven brands that bring pep+ to life.”