Pepsi Shifts Aim from Cola, Takes on Dannon & Chobani

Image Are the cola wars at an end? Brace for the yogurt wars, as PepsiCo, long focused on battling its archrival, Coca-Cola, takes on the likes of Dannon and General Mills, not to mention Fage and Chobani. In the most visible sign yet of its efforts to curb its reliance on soda sales, PepsiCo this month will start selling yogurt in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic states.


The products will initially be manufactured in Europe by Theo Muller, a large privately held German dairy company that has formed a joint venture with PepsiCo to capitalize on the growing yogurt market in the United States.

"We're very excited about this," said Sam Lteif, chief executive of Muller Quaker Dairy, the joint venture. "There's a huge opportunity for dairy in the US market, and we're optimistic about getting into it."

So confident are the two companies that they are investing $206 million in a 363,000-square-foot plant in Batavia, N.Y., announced in February, that will employ some 180 people and churn out 5 billion cups of yogurt a year. (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com)
Last modified onSaturday, 06 May 2017 10:07