Approach

We aim to leverage the scale and reach of our iconic brands to influence positive choices and more sustainable behaviors from consumers. Guiding this effort is our positive marketing strategy, which focuses on positive ambitions for people and the planet.

• People:  
  • Champion healthier options and accelerate the growth of our Positive Choices portfolio.
  • Inclusive marketing to better connect our brands with the people we serve. 
• Planet: 
  • Design our portfolio to be more sustainable and minimize the environmental impacts of our marketing practices.
  • Inspire consumers to choose sustainable brands and adopt sustainable behaviors. 

Underlying our strategy is the intent to be transparent. To build and maintain trust with our consumers, our brand initiatives must be authentic to the markets in which they’re activated and supported by measurable action. Our commitment to transparency extends beyond marketing to information communicated on pack. For more information on our labeling approach and policies, see Product labeling and claims.

General marketing practices

Our marketing practices and communications are guided by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Code of Advertising and Marketing Communication Practice and the ICC Framework for Responsible Food and Beverage Marketing Communications. Together, the ICC Code and Framework help ensure our marketing:

• Accurately represents our products and does not mislead consumers about product benefits; 
• Shows proper serving and portion sizes, as well as proper consumption; and
• Takes special care when communicating with children so as to not create a sense of urgency, or inappropriate price minimization (see Marketing to children, below).
  

Additionally, PepsiCo’s media-buying and content policies are audience-centric, aim to reach all consumers authentically and are viewpoint neutral with respect to political, religious status, or views.

Marketing to children

We believe children are a special kind of audience. When communicating about our products, we strive to take particular care to support the role of parents or others responsible for guiding children’s diet and lifestyle choices. Our marketers follow PepsiCo’s Global Policy on Responsible Advertising and Marketing to Children, as well as any relevant industry pledge programs and all relevant laws and regulations within the countries in which we operate. We also restrict direct sales of certain products to schools.

In the event that there are conflicts between our global policy, pledge programs and/or relevant laws and regulations, we apply the strictest requirement.

PepsiCo's Global Policy on Responsible Advertising and Marketing to Children

When marketing our products, we adhere to all relevant laws and regulations within the countries in which we operate. Additionally, our Global Policy on Responsible Advertising and Marketing to Children provides that:

• We do not advertise any products to children who are under the age of six, regardless of nutritional content; and
• We only advertise products to children under age 13 if they meet certain nutritional requirements.

This means that PepsiCo will not market on television programs when more than 30% of the audience is expected to be under the age of 13 unless the product meets certain nutritional requirements. Media covered under the policy includes TV, radio, print, cinema, online (including company-owned websites, third-party and social media), streaming services, DVD/CD-ROM, direct marketing, product placement, interactive games and in-game promotions, outdoor marketing, mobile and SMS marketing. The policy applies to both traditional (ads designed to stand out from the content they are viewed in) and native advertising (ads that appear similar to other material surrounding it such as news articles, product reviews or entertainment).

This policy is consistent with the International Food and Beverage Alliance (IFBA) Global Responsible Marketing Policy. Additionally, we have adopted the IFBA Common Nutrition Criteria when determining which products may be marketed to children that are older than six years and younger than 13 years. Consistent with the International Council of Beverages Associations (ICBA) Marketing to Children Guidelines, within our beverage portfolio, we will continue to only market plain water, fruit or vegetable juice and dairy-based beverages to children, so long as they are also compliant with the IFBA criteria.

When applicable, we enhance our policy to include additional restrictions and to adapt to a changing media environment and consumer expectations. For example, we adopted certain marketing restrictions within school environments and extended our policy to cover certain marketing communications primarily directed to children that use licensed characters (excluding company-owned, brand equity characters), celebrities (including influencers) and movie tie-ins.

In addition to our policies on responsible marketing to children, we also strive to market early-childhood products, including breast-milk substitutes, responsibly. For more information, see Breast-milk substitutes.

Global, regional and national pledge programs

PepsiCo’s global marketing to children policy is based on the principles of the IFBA Global Responsible Marketing Policy and the ICBA Marketing to Children Guidelines. These joint policies set a common standard for how the major global food and beverage manufacturers market their products to children around the world. In addition, we have signed on to industry-led voluntary pledge programs that engage industry within a given market, including those that operate at the national or regional level.

Local pledge programs may go beyond IFBA and ICBA commitments and also often provide guidance for marketers on how the policies should be implemented within the local context.

Sales of our products to schools

In 2006, in the U.S., PepsiCo was proud to take a leadership role as the only company to sign voluntary agreements with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation to limit sales of both beverages and foods in K-12 schools. These agreements represented break-through steps to adopt a practical policy in the U.S. that provided a sensible solution for students, parents and educators. The beverage agreement led to the removal of full calorie soft drinks in all K-12 schools, the limiting of offerings to juice and water in elementary schools and the provision of lower calorie and smaller portion options for older students. The foods agreement introduced nutrition standards (e.g., limits on sugar, salt and fat) and limited portion sizes. These agreements also served as a precursor to the current “Smart Snacks” national nutrition standards for foods and beverages sold in schools.

Outside of the U.S., PepsiCo’s global policy for beverage sales in schools focuses on providing water, juice, milk and low-calorie beverages for students. It should be noted that because our policies alone cannot determine the actions of businesses outside our operational control, our products sometimes may be sold in schools by independent third parties who may not adhere to the same standards we set ourselves. We view our policy as an opportunity to engage our industry peers and local authorities in adopting similar policies. It will ultimately take a collaborative, industry-wide effort to ensure consistently more nutritious options in schools.

Brands with positive impact

Our positive brands strategy strives to build stronger connections with our consumers — inspiring millions of people through our brand experiences, creative campaigns, leveraging transformative technology to move quickly and meet heightened expectations and designing immersive experiences that aim to bring communities together.

Guiding our efforts is our positive marketing strategy, which focuses on three ambitions:

• Transform, champion and accelerate the growth of our Positive Choices portfolio;
• Design our portfolio and marketing activities to be more sustainable and inclusive from the start — minimizing our environmental impacts while better connecting our brands with the people we serve; and
• Inspire consumers to choose sustainable brands and adopt sustainable behaviors. 
  

¹Markets assessed were Colombia, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa (TV only) and Mexico (digital only)

²A Gross Rating Point is a way to measure the impact of an advertising campaign, to help advertisers understand how many people have seen their ads and how often. It measures both the reach (percentage of the target audience that has seen the ad at least once) and frequency (the average number of times the ad has been seen by those people)

³Digital media includes company-owned websites, company-managed social media and company-recognized influencers

⁴Assessed markets were France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania and Spain