BUSINESS 1 - PepsiCo: An Analysis of Ethical Business Operations

This report provides an analysis of PepsiCo's ethical business practices, examining its historical context, strategies, and impact on consumers, manufacturers, and investors. It highlights PepsiCo's evolution as a global conglomerate, emphasizing its commitment to ethical standards and its ability to adapt to changing consumer demands through product innovation and diversification. The report discusses instances of ethical challenges, such as pricing issues and shifts in consumer preferences, while also acknowledging PepsiCo's resilience and market dominance. The analysis covers the company's commitment to sustainability and financial performance, demonstrating how ethical behavior has contributed to its long-term success in the food and beverage industry. The report references key academic sources to support its claims, providing a comprehensive overview of PepsiCo's ethical journey and its implications for the business world.

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PepsiCo is a recognized conglomerate that has been in existence since the 19th
century. Headquarters of PepsiCo is still located in New York City. Over the years, PepsiCo
has become a well-known brand by selling its beverage and snack products. It also took over
various companies and made their brand name strong. PepsiCo has spread all over the
developed and developing companies in years. PepsiCo was given the tag as one of the
world’s most ethical companies. This is because the company has been satisfying the
requirements and demands of the consumers (Thompson, Strickland & Gamble 2007).
PepsiCo has been consistent in ethical terms with both the manufacturers and customers.
Manufacturers had developed new flavors of snacks to attract the interest of indulgent
snackers and their regular customers. PepsiCo has been loyal to its consumers by innovating
new products and fulfilling their needs throughout (Rothaermel, 2015). In the developed
countries, PepsiCo made modest modifications. To maintain the brand name, regular
customers and attract new ones, PepsiCo also introduced healthy products. It started using
healthy oils and ingredients while processing chips to satisfy the demands of health conscious
consumers in the United States. Developing health and wellness products were the key
initiatives of their business strategic movement. Acting ethically all these years, made them
survive in the food industry along with its other competitors (Hoffman, Corbett, Joglekar &
Wells, (2014). PepsiCo has also delivered sustainable financial performance through the
business of ethical practices. Different consumers have different requirements in the field
food and beverages. Therefore, PepsiCo has maintained its ethical values. The corporate
strategy of PepsiCo had diversified the company into all the possible products. Products
being sweet and salty snack, ready to eat food, cereals, carbonated soft drinks, mineral water,
coffee and juices. Through these products, PepsiCo has maintained close relationships with
the distribution allies, international manufacturers and expansion. The company was
determined in selling high quality product and worked hard on product reformulation. Such

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efforts created opportunities of growth from the business sectors and public interest. There
was this period when the price of the products were constant but the quantity reduced.
PepsiCo was being unethical with their customers and investors However; there was another
ethical crisis in the department of the beverage products. It was observed that consumption of
water was increasing in carbonated drinks (Muller, 2015). The growth and the financial
structure lowered at that time. This incident affected the sales position of PepsiCo.
Nevertheless, PepsiCo gained back its position in the market with the help of its loyal
customers and innovative products. The popularity of the brand was constant despite such
unethical occurrences and competition in the market. PepsiCo was the largest seller of liquid
refreshments in the United States. PepsiCo has operated 50 snack food manufacturing and
processing plants. Therefore, PepsiCo the well-known brand has mostly been ethical with
their consumers, manufacturers and investors. The diversification strategy helped in the
growth of PepsiCo. Being ethical will always be beneficial for PepsiCo to remain strong in
the business industry.

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References:
Hoffman, A. J., Corbett, C. J., Joglekar, N., & Wells, P. (2014). Industrial ecology as a source
of competitive advantage. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 18(5), 597-602.
Muller, M. (2015). The'Nexus' As a Step Back towards a More Coherent Water Resource
Management Paradigm. Water Alternatives, 8(1).
Rothaermel, F. T. (2015). Strategic management. McGraw-Hill Education.
Thompson, A. A., Strickland, A. J., & Gamble, J. E. (2007). Crafting and executing
strategy. The quest for competitive advantage. Concepts and cases. 15th edition, New
York, NY.