Item 1. Business.
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Item 1. Business.
When used in this report, the terms “we,” “us,” “our,” “PepsiCo” and the “Company” mean PepsiCo, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries, collectively. Certain terms used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are defined in the Glossary included in Item 7. of this report.
Company Overview
We were incorporated in Delaware in 1919 and reincorporated in North Carolina in 1986. We are a leading global food and beverage company with a complementary portfolio of brands, including Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. Through our operations, authorized bottlers, contract manufacturers and other third parties, we make, market, distribute and sell a wide variety of convenient beverages, foods and snacks, serving customers and consumers in more than 200 countries and territories.
Our Operations
Changes to Organizational Structure
During the fourth quarter of 2019, we realigned our Europe Sub-Saharan Africa (ESSA) and Asia, Middle East and North Africa (AMENA) reportable segments to be consistent with a recent strategic realignment of our organizational structure and how our Chief Executive Officer assesses the performance of, and allocates resources to, our reportable segments. As a result, our beverage, food and snack businesses in North Africa, the Middle East and South Asia that were part of our former AMENA segment and our businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa that were part of our former ESSA segment are now reported together as our Africa, Middle East and South Asia (AMESA) segment. The remaining beverage, food and snack businesses that were part of our former AMENA segment are now reported together as our Asia Pacific, Australia and New Zealand and China region (APAC) segment and our beverage, food and snack businesses in Europe are now reported as our Europe segment.
These changes did not impact our Frito-Lay North America (FLNA), Quaker Foods North America (QFNA),
PepsiCo Beverages North America (PBNA), formerly named North America Beverages, or Latin America (LatAm) reportable segments or our consolidated financial results.
Our historical segment reporting presented in this report has been retrospectively revised to reflect the new organizational structure.
We are organized into seven reportable segments (also referred to as divisions), as follows:
| 1) | FLNA, which includes our branded food and snack businesses in the United States and Canada; |
| 2) | QFNA, which includes our cereal, rice, pasta and other branded food businesses in the United States and Canada; |
| 3) | PBNA, which includes our beverage businesses in the United States and Canada; |
| 4) | LatAm, which includes all of our beverage, food and snack businesses in Latin America; |
| 5) | Europe, which includes all of our beverage, food and snack businesses in Europe; |
| 6) | AMESA, which includes all of our beverage, food and snack businesses in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia; and |
| 7) | APAC, which includes all of our beverage, food and snack businesses in Asia Pacific, Australia and New Zealand, and China region. |
Frito-Lay North America
Either independently or in conjunction with third parties, FLNA makes, markets, distributes and sells branded snack foods. These foods include branded dips, Cheetos cheese-flavored snacks, Doritos tortilla chips, Fritos corn chips, Lay’s potato chips, Ruffles potato chips and Tostitos tortilla chips. FLNA’s branded products are sold to independent distributors and retailers. In addition, FLNA’s joint venture with Strauss Group makes, markets, distributes and sells Sabra refrigerated dips and spreads.
Quaker Foods North America
Either independently or in conjunction with third parties, QFNA makes, markets, distributes and sells cereals, rice, pasta and other branded products. QFNA’s products include Aunt Jemima mixes and syrups, Cap’n Crunch cereal, Life cereal, Pasta Roni, Quaker Chewy granola bars, Quaker grits, Quaker oatmeal, Quaker rice cakes, Quaker simply granola and Rice-A-Roni side dishes. These branded products are sold to independent distributors and retailers.
PepsiCo Beverages North America
Either independently or in conjunction with third parties, PBNA makes, markets and sells beverage concentrates, fountain syrups and finished goods under various beverage brands including Aquafina, Diet Mountain Dew, Diet Pepsi, Gatorade, Mountain Dew, Pepsi, Propel, Sierra Mist and Tropicana. PBNA also, either independently or in conjunction with third parties, makes, markets, distributes and sells ready-to-drink tea and coffee products through joint ventures with Unilever (under the Lipton brand name) and Starbucks, respectively. Further, PBNA manufactures and distributes certain brands licensed from Keurig Dr Pepper Inc., including Crush, Dr Pepper and Schweppes, and certain juice brands licensed from Dole Food Company, Inc. (Dole) and Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. (Ocean Spray). PBNA operates its own bottling plants and distribution facilities and sells branded finished goods directly to independent distributors and retailers. PBNA also sells concentrate and finished goods for our brands to authorized and independent bottlers, who in turn sell our branded finished goods to independent distributors and retailers in certain markets.
Latin America
Either independently or in conjunction with third parties, LatAm makes, markets, distributes and sells a number of snack food brands including Cheetos, Doritos, Emperador, Lay’s, Marias Gamesa, Rosquinhas Mabel, Ruffles, Sabritas, Saladitas and Tostitos, as well as many Quaker-branded cereals and snacks. LatAm
also, either independently or in conjunction with third parties, makes, markets, distributes and sells beverage concentrates, fountain syrups and finished goods under various beverage brands including 7UP, Gatorade, H2oh!, Manzanita Sol, Mirinda, Pepsi, Pepsi Black, San Carlos and Toddy. These branded products are sold to authorized bottlers, independent distributors and retailers. LatAm also, either independently or in conjunction with third parties, makes, markets, distributes and sells ready-to-drink tea products through an international joint venture with Unilever (under the Lipton brand name).
Europe
Either independently or in conjunction with third parties, Europe makes, markets, distributes and sells a number of leading snack food brands including Cheetos, Chipita, Doritos, Lay’s, Ruffles and Walkers, as well as many Quaker-branded cereals and snacks, through consolidated businesses, as well as through noncontrolled affiliates. Europe also, either independently or in conjunction with third parties, makes, markets, distributes and sells beverage concentrates, fountain syrups and finished goods under various beverage brands including 7UP, Diet Pepsi, Mirinda, Pepsi, Pepsi Max and Tropicana. These branded products are sold to authorized bottlers, independent distributors and retailers. In certain markets, however, Europe operates its own bottling plants and distribution facilities. Europe also, either independently or in conjunction with third parties, makes, markets, distributes and sells ready-to-drink tea products through an international joint venture with Unilever (under the Lipton brand name). In addition, Europe makes, markets, distributes and sells a number of leading dairy products including Agusha, Chudo and Domik v Derevne. Further, as part of its beverage business, Europe manufactures and distributes sparkling water makers through SodaStream International Ltd. (SodaStream). See Note 14 to our consolidated financial statements for further information about our acquisition of SodaStream.
Africa, Middle East and South Asia
Either independently or in conjunction with third parties, AMESA makes, markets, distributes and sells a number of leading snack food brands including Cheetos, Chipsy, Doritos, Kurkure and Lay’s, as well as many Quaker branded cereals and snacks, through consolidated businesses, as well as through noncontrolled affiliates. AMESA also makes, markets, distributes and sells beverage concentrates, fountain syrups and finished goods under various beverage brands including 7UP, Aquafina, Mirinda, Mountain Dew and Pepsi. These branded products are sold to authorized bottlers, independent distributors and retailers. In certain markets, however, AMESA operates its own bottling plants and distribution facilities. AMESA also, either independently or in conjunction with third parties, makes, markets, distributes and sells ready-to-drink tea products through an international joint venture with Unilever (under the Lipton brand name). In 2019, we entered into an agreement to acquire Pioneer Food Group Ltd. (Pioneer Foods), a food and beverage company in South Africa with exports to countries across the globe. The transaction is subject to certain regulatory approvals and other customary conditions and is expected to close in the first half of 2020. See Note 14 to our consolidated financial statements for further information about our acquisition of Pioneer Foods.
Asia Pacific, Australia and New Zealand and China Region
Either independently or in conjunction with third parties, APAC makes, markets, distributes and sells a number of leading snack food brands including Cheetos, Doritos, Lay’s and Smith’s, as well as many Quaker branded cereals and snacks, through consolidated businesses, as well as through noncontrolled affiliates. APAC also makes, markets, distributes and sells beverage concentrates, fountain syrups and finished goods under various beverage brands including 7UP, Aquafina, Mirinda, Mountain Dew and Pepsi. These branded products are sold to authorized bottlers, independent distributors and retailers. APAC also, either independently or in conjunction with third parties, makes, markets, distributes and sells ready-to-drink tea products through an international joint venture with Unilever (under the Lipton brand name). Further, APAC licenses the Tropicana brand for use in China on co-branded juice products in connection with a strategic alliance with Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Holding Corp. (Tingyi).
Our Distribution Network
Our products are primarily brought to market through direct-store-delivery (DSD), customer warehouse and distributor networks and are also sold directly to consumers through e-commerce platforms and retailers. The distribution system used depends on customer needs, product characteristics and local trade practices.
Direct-Store-Delivery
We, our independent bottlers and our distributors operate DSD systems that deliver beverages, foods and snacks directly to retail stores where the products are merchandised by our employees or our independent bottlers. DSD enables us to merchandise with maximum visibility and appeal. DSD is especially well-suited to products that are restocked often and respond to in-store promotion and merchandising.
Customer Warehouse
Some of our products are delivered from our manufacturing plants and warehouses to customer warehouses. These less costly systems generally work best for products that are less fragile and perishable, and have lower turnover.
Distributor Networks
We distribute many of our products through third-party distributors. Third-party distributors are particularly effective when greater distribution reach can be achieved by including a wide range of products on the delivery vehicles. For example, our foodservice and vending business distributes beverages, foods and snacks to restaurants, businesses, schools and stadiums through third-party foodservice and vending distributors and operators.
E-commerce
Our products are also available and sold directly to consumers on a growing number of company-owned and third-party e-commerce websites and mobile commerce applications.
Ingredients and Other Supplies
The principal ingredients we use in our beverage, food and snack products are apple, orange and pineapple juice and other juice concentrates, aspartame, corn, corn sweeteners, flavorings, flour, grapefruit, oranges and other fruits, oats, potatoes, raw milk, rice, seasonings, sucralose, sugar, vegetable and essential oils, and wheat. We also use water in the manufacturing of our products. Our key packaging materials include plastic resins, including polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polypropylene resins used for plastic beverage bottles and film packaging used for snack foods, aluminum, glass, closures, cardboard and paperboard cartons. In addition, we continue to integrate recyclability into our product development process and support the increased use of recycled content, including recycled PET, in our packaging. Fuel, electricity and natural gas are also important commodities for our businesses due to their use in our and our business partners’ facilities and the vehicles delivering our products. We employ specialists to secure adequate supplies of many of these items and have not experienced any significant continuous shortages that would prevent us from meeting our requirements. Many of these ingredients, raw materials and commodities are purchased in the open market. The prices we pay for such items are subject to fluctuation, and we manage this risk through the use of fixed-price contracts and purchase orders, pricing agreements and derivative instruments, including swaps and futures. In addition, risk to our supply of certain raw materials is mitigated through purchases from multiple geographies and suppliers. When prices increase, we may or may not pass on such increases to our customers. In addition, we continue to make investments to improve the sustainability and resources of our agricultural supply chain, including the development of our initiative to advance sustainable farming practices by our suppliers and expanding it further globally. See Note 9 to our consolidated financial statements for further information on how we manage our exposure to commodity prices.
Our Brands and Intellectual Property Rights
We own numerous valuable trademarks which are essential to our worldwide businesses, including 1893, Agusha, Amp Energy, Aquafina, Aquafina Flavorsplash, Arto Lifewater, Aunt Jemima, Bare, Bolt24, bubly, Cap’n Crunch, Cheetos, Chester’s, Chipita, Chipsy, Chokis, Chudo, Cracker Jack, Crunchy, Diet Mountain Dew, Diet Mug, Diet Pepsi, Diet 7UP (outside the United States), Domik v Derevne, Doritos, Duyvis, Elma Chips, Emperador, Evolve, Frito-Lay, Fritos, Fruktovy Sad, G2, Gamesa, Gatorade, Grandma’s, H2oh!, Health Warrior, Imunele, Izze, J-7 Tonus, Kas, KeVita, Kurkure, Lay’s, Life, Lifewtr, Lubimy, Manzanita Sol, Marias Gamesa, Matutano, Mirinda, Miss Vickie’s, Mother’s, Mountain Dew, Mountain Dew Amp Game Fuel, Mountain Dew Code Red, Mountain Dew Ice, Mountain Dew Kickstart, Mountain Dew Zero Sugar, Mug, Munchies, Muscle Milk, Naked, Near East, Off the Eaten Path, O.N.E., Paso de los Toros, Pasta Roni, Pepsi, Pepsi Black, Pepsi Max, Pepsi Zero Sugar, Propel, Quaker, Quaker Chewy, Rice-A-Roni, Rold Gold, Rosquinhas Mabel, Ruffles, Sabritas, Sakata, Saladitas, San Carlos, Sandora, Santitas, 7UP (outside the United States), 7UP Free (outside the United States), Sierra Mist, Sierra Mist Zero Sugar, Simba, Smartfood, Smith’s, Snack a Jacks, SoBe, SodaStream, Sonric’s, Stacy’s, Sting, Stubborn Soda, SunChips, Toddy, Toddynho, Tostitos, Trop 50, Tropicana, Tropicana Pure Premium, Tropicana Twister, V Water, Vesely Molochnik, Walkers and Ya. We also hold long-term licenses to use valuable trademarks in connection with our products in certain markets, including Dole and Ocean Spray. We also distribute Rockstar Energy drinks and various Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. brands, including Dr Pepper in certain markets, Crush and Schweppes. Joint ventures in which we have an ownership interest either own or have the right to use certain trademarks, such as Lipton, Sabra and Starbucks. Trademarks remain valid so long as they are used properly for identification purposes, and we emphasize correct use of our trademarks. We have authorized, through licensing arrangements, the use of many of our trademarks in such contexts as snack food joint ventures and beverage bottling appointments. In addition, we license the use of our trademarks on merchandise that is sold at retail, which enhances brand awareness.
We either own or have licenses to use a number of patents which relate to certain of our products, their packaging, the processes for their production and the design and operation of various equipment used in our businesses. Some of these patents are licensed to others.
Seasonality
Our businesses are affected by seasonal variations. Our beverage, food and snack sales are generally highest in the third quarter due to seasonal and holiday-related patterns, and generally lowest in the first quarter. However, taken as a whole, seasonality has not had a material impact on our consolidated financial results.
Our Customers
Our customers include wholesale and other distributors, foodservice customers, grocery stores, drug stores, convenience stores, discount/dollar stores, mass merchandisers, membership stores, hard discounters, e-commerce retailers and authorized independent bottlers, among others. We normally grant our independent bottlers exclusive contracts to sell and manufacture certain beverage products bearing our trademarks within a specific geographic area. These arrangements provide us with the right to charge our independent bottlers for concentrate, finished goods and Aquafina royalties and specify the manufacturing process required for product quality. We also grant distribution rights to our independent bottlers for certain beverage products bearing our trademarks for specified geographic areas.
We rely on and provide financial incentives to our customers to assist in the distribution and promotion of our products to the consumer. For our independent distributors and retailers, these incentives include volume-based rebates, product placement fees, promotions and displays. For our independent bottlers, these incentives are referred to as bottler funding and are negotiated annually with each bottler to support a variety of trade and consumer programs, such as consumer incentives, advertising support, new product support, and vending and cooler equipment placement. Consumer incentives include pricing discounts and promotions, and other
promotional offers. Advertising support is directed at advertising programs and supporting independent bottler media. New product support includes targeted consumer and retailer incentives and direct marketplace support, such as point-of-purchase materials, product placement fees, media and advertising. Vending and cooler equipment placement programs support the acquisition and placement of vending machines and cooler equipment. The nature and type of programs vary annually.
Changes to the retail landscape, including increased consolidation of retail ownership, the rapid growth of sales through e-commerce websites and mobile commerce applications, including through subscription services and other direct-to-consumer businesses, the integration of physical and digital operations among retailers, as well as the growth in hard discounters, and the current economic environment continue to increase the importance of major customers. In 2019, sales to Walmart Inc. (Walmart) and its affiliates, including Sam’s Club (Sam’s), represented approximately 13% of our consolidated net revenue, with sales reported across all of our divisions. Our top five retail customers represented approximately 34% of our 2019 net revenue in North America, with Walmart and its affiliates (including Sam’s) representing approximately 19%. These percentages include concentrate sales to our independent bottlers, which were used in finished goods sold by them to these retailers.
See “Off-Balance-Sheet Arrangements” in “Our Financial Results – Our Liquidity and Capital Resources” in Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations for more information on our independent bottlers.
Our Competition
Our beverage, food and snack products are in highly competitive categories and markets and compete against products of international beverage, food and snack companies that, like us, operate in multiple geographies, as well as regional, local and private label manufacturers and economy brands and other competitors, including smaller companies developing and selling micro brands directly to consumers through e-commerce platforms or through retailers focused on locally-sourced products. In many countries in which our products are sold, including the United States, The Coca-Cola Company is our primary beverage competitor. Other beverage, food and snack competitors include, but are not limited to, Campbell Soup Company, Conagra Brands, Inc., Kellogg Company, Keurig Dr Pepper Inc., The Kraft Heinz Company, Link Snacks, Inc., Mondelēz International, Inc., Monster Beverage Corporation, Nestlé S.A. and Red Bull GmbH.
Many of our food and snack products hold significant leadership positions in the food and snack industry in the United States and worldwide. In 2019, we and The Coca-Cola Company represented approximately 22% and 20%, respectively, of the U.S. liquid refreshment beverage category by estimated retail sales in measured channels, according to Information Resources, Inc. However, The Coca-Cola Company has significant carbonated soft drink (CSD) share advantage in many markets outside the United States.
Our beverage, food and snack products compete primarily on the basis of brand recognition and loyalty, taste, price, value, quality, product variety, innovation, distribution, advertising, marketing and promotional activity (including digital), packaging, convenience, service and the ability to anticipate and effectively respond to consumer preferences and trends, including increased consumer focus on health and wellness and the continued acceleration of e-commerce and other methods of distributing and purchasing products. Success in this competitive environment is dependent on effective promotion of existing products, effective introduction of new products and reformulations of existing products, increased efficiency in production techniques, effective incorporation of technology and digital tools across all areas of our business, the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns, marketing programs, product packaging and pricing, new vending and dispensing equipment and brand and trademark development and protection. We believe that the strength of our brands, innovation and marketing, coupled with the quality of our products and flexibility of our distribution network, allows us to compete effectively.
Research and Development
We engage in a variety of research and development activities and invest in innovation globally with the goal of meeting changing consumer demands and preferences and accelerating sustainable growth. These activities principally involve: development of new ingredients, flavors and products; reformulation and improvement in the quality and appeal of existing products; improvement and modernization of manufacturing processes, including cost reduction; improvements in product quality, safety and integrity; development of, and improvements in, marketing and merchandising equipment, dispensing equipment, packaging technology (including investments in recycling-focused technologies), package design (including development of sustainable, bio-based packaging) and portion sizes; efforts focused on identifying opportunities to transform, grow and broaden our product portfolio, including by developing products with improved nutrition profiles that reduce added sugars, sodium or saturated fat, including through the use of natural flavors, sweetener alternatives and flavor modifiers and innovation in existing sweeteners and flavoring, further expanding our beyond the bottle portfolio, including further growing our SodaStream business, and offering more products with positive nutrition including whole grains, fruits and vegetables, dairy, protein and hydration; investments in building our capabilities to support our global e-commerce business; investments in technology and digitalization, including data analytics to enhance our consumer insights; and efforts focused on reducing our impact on the environment, including improvements in energy efficiency, water use in our operations and our agricultural practices. Our research centers are located around the world, including Brazil, China, India, Ireland, Mexico, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, and leverage nutrition science, food science, engineering and consumer insights to meet our strategy to continue to innovate in nutritious and convenient beverages, foods and snacks.
In 2019, we continued to make investments to further digitalize our business including: continuing to strengthen our omnichannel capabilities, particularly in e-commerce; and leveraging technology and data analytics to capture and analyze consumer level data to increasingly structure personalized communications with consumers and satisfy demand at the store level. In addition, we continued to refine our beverage, food and snack portfolio to meet changing consumer demands by reducing added sugars in many of our beverages and sodium and saturated fat in many of our foods and snacks, and by developing a broader portfolio of product choices, including: continuing to expand our beverage options that contain no high-fructose corn syrup and that are made with natural flavors; expanding our beyond the bottle offerings by offering bubly in fountain dispensing; developing 100% recycled PET packaging for LIFEWTR and aluminum can packaging for Aquafina; expanding our state of the art food and beverage healthy vending initiative to increase the availability of nutritious and convenient beverages, foods and snacks; further expanding our portfolio, through a combination of brand extensions, product reformulations, new product innovations and acquisitions to offer products with more of the nutritious ingredients and hydration our consumers are looking for, such as Quaker (grains), Tropicana (juices, lemonades, fruit and vegetable drinks), Gatorade (sports nutrition for athletes), Naked Juice (cold-pressed juices and smoothies), KeVita (probiotics, tonics and fermented teas), Bare (baked apple chips and other baked fruits and vegetables), Health Warrior (nutrition bars), Evolve (plant-based protein products) and Muscle Milk (protein shakes); further expanding our whole grain products globally; and further expanding our portfolio in growing categories, such as dairy, hummus and other refrigerated dips, and baked grain snacks. In addition, we continued to make investments to reduce our impact on the environment, including: efforts to conserve raw materials and energy, such as by working to achieve reductions in greenhouse gas emissions across our global businesses, by helping to protect and conserve global water supply especially in high-water-risk locations (including replenishing watersheds that source our operations in high-water-risk locations and promoting the efficient use of water in our agricultural supply chain), and by incorporating improvements in the sustainability and resources of our agricultural supply chain into our operations; efforts to reduce waste generated by our operations and disposed of in landfills; efforts to increase energy efficiency, including the increased use of renewable energy and resources; efforts to support sustainable agriculture by expanding best practices with our growers and suppliers, including
through the use of data and technology to optimize yields and efficiency and promote responsible use of pesticides; and efforts to create a circular future for packaging, including the increased use of recycled content and alternative packaging, support for increased packaging recovery and recycling rates globally, optimization of packaging technology and design to minimize the amount of plastic in our packaging and to make our packaging increasingly recoverable or recyclable with lower environmental impact, and our continued investments in developing compostable and biodegradable packaging.
Regulatory Matters
The conduct of our businesses, including the production, storage, distribution, sale, display, advertising, marketing, labeling, content, quality, safety, transportation, packaging, disposal, recycling and use of our products, as well as our employment and occupational health and safety practices and protection of personal information, are subject to various laws and regulations administered by federal, state and local governmental agencies in the United States, as well as to laws and regulations administered by government entities and agencies in the more than 200 other countries and territories in which our products are made, manufactured, distributed or sold. It is our policy to abide by the laws and regulations around the world that apply to our businesses.
The U.S. laws and regulations that we are subject to include: the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and various state laws governing food safety; the Food Safety Modernization Act; the Occupational Safety and Health Act; various federal, state and local environmental protection laws, as discussed below; the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act; the Federal Trade Commission Act; the Lanham Act; various federal and state laws and regulations governing competition and trade practices; various federal and state laws and regulations governing our employment practices, including those related to equal employment opportunity, such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Act and the National Labor Relations Act and those related to overtime compensation, such as the Fair Labor Standards Act; data privacy and personal data protection laws and regulations, including the California Privacy Act of 2018; customs and foreign trade laws and regulations, including laws regarding the import or export of our products or ingredients used in our products and tariffs; laws regulating the sale of certain of our products in schools; laws regulating our supply chain, including the 2010 California Transparency in Supply Chains Act and laws relating to the payment of taxes. We are also required to comply with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act. We are also subject to various state and local statutes and regulations, including state consumer protection laws such as Proposition 65 in California, which requires that a specific warning appear on any product that contains a substance listed by the State of California as having been found to cause cancer or birth defects, unless the amount of such substance in the product is below a safe harbor level.
We are subject to numerous similar and other laws and regulations outside the United States, including but not limited to laws and regulations governing food safety, international trade and tariffs, supply chain, including the U.K. Modern Slavery Act, occupational health and safety, competition, anti-corruption and data privacy, including the European Union General Data Protection Regulation. In many jurisdictions, compliance with competition laws is of special importance to us due to our competitive position in those jurisdictions, as is compliance with anti-corruption laws, including the U.K. Bribery Act. We rely on legal and operational compliance programs, as well as in-house and outside counsel and other experts, to guide our businesses in complying with the laws and regulations around the world that apply to our businesses.
In addition, certain jurisdictions have either imposed, or are considering imposing, new or increased taxes on the manufacture, distribution or sale of our products, ingredients or substances contained in, or attributes of, our products or commodities used in the production of our products. These taxes vary in scope and form: some apply to all beverages, including non-caloric beverages, while others apply only to beverages with a caloric sweetener (e.g., sugar). Similarly, some measures apply a single tax rate per ounce/liter on beverages containing over a certain level of added sugar (or other sweetener) while others apply a graduated tax rate depending upon the amount of added sugar (or other sweetener) in the beverage and some apply a flat tax
rate on beverages containing a particular substance or ingredient, regardless of the level of such substance or ingredient.
In addition, certain jurisdictions have either imposed, or are considering imposing, product labeling or warning requirements or other limitations on the marketing or sale of certain of our products as a result of ingredients or substances contained in such products or the audience to whom products are marketed. These types of provisions have required that we provide a label that highlights perceived concerns about a product or warns consumers to avoid consumption of certain ingredients or substances present in our products. It is possible that similar or more restrictive requirements may be proposed or enacted in the future.
In addition, certain jurisdictions have either imposed or are considering imposing regulations designed to increase recycling rates or encourage waste reduction. These regulations vary in scope and form from deposit return systems designed to incentivize the return of beverage containers, to extended producer responsibility policies and even bans on the use of some plastic beverage bottles and other single-use plastics. It is possible that similar or more restrictive requirements may be proposed or enacted in the future.
We are also subject to national and local environmental laws in the United States and in foreign countries in which we do business, including laws related to water consumption and treatment, wastewater discharge and air emissions. In the United States, our facilities must comply with the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and other federal and state laws regarding handling, storage, release and disposal of wastes generated onsite and sent to third-party owned and operated offsite licensed facilities and our facilities outside the United States must comply with similar laws and regulations. In addition, continuing concern over climate change may result in new or increased legal and regulatory requirements (in or outside of the United States) to reduce or mitigate the potential effects of greenhouse gases, or to limit or impose additional costs on commercial water use due to local water scarcity concerns. Our policy is to abide by all applicable environmental laws and regulations, and we have internal programs in place with respect to our global environmental compliance. We have made, and plan to continue making, necessary expenditures for compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations. While these expenditures have not had a material impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations to date, changes in environmental compliance requirements, and any expenditures necessary to comply with such requirements, could adversely affect our financial performance. In addition, we and our subsidiaries are subject to environmental remediation obligations arising in the normal course of business, as well as remediation and related indemnification obligations in connection with certain historical activities and contractual obligations, including those of businesses acquired by us or our subsidiaries. While these environmental remediation and indemnification obligations cannot be predicted with certainty, such obligations have not had, and are not expected to have, a material impact on our capital expenditures, earnings or competitive position.
In addition to the discussion in this section, see also “Item 1A. Risk Factors.”
Employees
As of December 28, 2019, we and our consolidated subsidiaries employed approximately 267,000 people worldwide, including approximately 116,000 people within the United States. In certain countries, our employment levels are subject to seasonal variations. We or our subsidiaries are party to numerous collective bargaining agreements. We expect that we will be able to renegotiate these collective bargaining agreements on satisfactory terms when they expire. We believe that relations with our employees are generally good.
Available Information
We are required to file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC at http://www.sec.gov.
Our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, proxy statements and amendments to those documents filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (Exchange Act), are also available free of charge on our Internet site at http://www.pepsico.com as soon as reasonably practicable after such reports are electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC.
Investors should note that we currently announce material information to our investors and others using filings with the SEC, press releases, public conference calls, webcasts or our corporate website (www.pepsico.com), including news and announcements regarding our financial performance, key personnel, our brands and our business strategy. Information that we post on our corporate website could be deemed material to investors. We encourage investors, the media, our customers, consumers, business partners and others interested in us to review the information we post on these channels. We may from time to time update the list of channels we will use to communicate information that could be deemed material and will post information about any such change on www.pepsico.com. The information on our website is not, and shall not be deemed to be, a part hereof or incorporated into this or any of our other filings with the SEC.
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