Question

Write a research paper detailing your company's SWOT analysis findings. You should list 2 professional reference sources to show your work is credible and can be defended.

Answer 1

SWOT of PepsiCo.

STRENGTH:

Market Positioning: It has a vast market positioning that helps them to serve diverse customer base with their products ranging from oat, rice snacks and grain-based foods, carbonated and non-carbonated beverages. Till December 2017, PepsiCo. has held 20% of the US liquid refreshment beverage market and have contributed 19% of the total food and beverage retail sales growth

Brand Equity: It has a high brand reputation and recognition. It has a valuation of its brand worth $19.4 billion and has also ranked 29 in the Forbes list of valuable brands list.

R&D Activities: The company makes huge investments in its research & development activities to produce innovative products. Its activities comprise of the development of new ingredients and products; improvement and modernization of manufacturing processes; reformulation and improvement in the quality and appeal of existing products

WEAKNESS:

Product Recalls: Recently, there has been frequent product recalls which could lead to an increased operational costs. PepsiCo had recalled two packs of Doritos Chilli Heatwave due to presence of milk that was not mentioned on the label and had recalled few batches of Doritos lightly salted corn chips due to the presence of soya and wheat (gluten) that were not mentioned on the label. In both the cases, these could potentially cause health risk for customers

Legal Obligations: Lawsuits have become quite common against PepsiCo. Recently, CSPI alleged PepsiCo for misleadingly marketing Naked juices as predominantly containing high-value ingredients, but in reality, the main ingredient is often cheaper, less nutritious apple or orange juice.

OPPORTUNITIES:

Global soft drinks consumption: The global consumption of soft drinks market in terms of value stood at US$841,600.2 million in 2016 and has been forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 5.8% in the next five years. This is a good opportunity for the company as it can grow its revenue with the growing demand.

THREATS:

Competition: Coca Cola is the biggest competitor which gives tough competition to PepsiCo. Both of them together represent 40% of the total US liquid refreshment beverage market.

Sources: Annual report of PepsiCo.; Marketing91