PepsiCo finally stops producing Pepsi and 7UP in Russia
The continued availability highlights the complexity of withdrawing from one of the world’s largest countries
20 September 2022 - 10:08
byJessica DiNapoli and Alexander Marrow
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Cans of Pepsi are displayed in Paris, France. Picture: REUTERS/JACKY NAEGELEN
New York/Moscow — PepsiCo has stopped making Pepsi, 7UP and Mountain Dew in Russia nearly six months after the US company said it would suspend sales and production after Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine.
Pepsi's announcement came after Reuters visited dozens of supermarkets, retailers and gyms in Moscow and beyond and found cans and bottles of Pepsi printed with July and August production dates from factories within Russia.
The most recent date on a Pepsi product was August 17.
In a statement to Reuters, the US company said it had stopped making concentrates for PepsiCola, Mirinda, 7Up and Mountain Dew in Russia.
“All concentrates have subsequently been exhausted in Russia and production has ended,” a PepsiCo spokesperson said on September 8, the first public statement on the matter since the company announced in early March it was suspending production, sales, promotional activities and advertising in Russia.
The spokesperson said this was “in line with the announcement we made in March 2022” but declined to comment when asked for an update on sales and whether they had been halted.
The continued production means fizzy drinks are still widely available in Moscow and also in Vladivostok in the far east and Krasnoyarsk in Siberia, according to a review by Reuters.
A gym owner in Moscow said it had placed an order with Pepsi as recently as mid-August.
The West has not sanctioned food and drink as part of sweeping measures aimed at punishing Russia over its actions in Ukraine.
But the continued availability highlights the complexity of withdrawing from one of the world’s largest countries. In 2021, Russia was New York-based Pepsi’s third-biggest market, after the US and Mexico.
Earlier in the northern hemisphere summer, shops in the capital were still selling off stockpiles of foreign beers, months after the brewers said they would halt production.
Atlanta-based rival Coca-Cola’s production in Russia also continued after it said in March it would suspend operations.
The company said in June its bottler, Coca-Cola HBC, a separate company, and existing customers in Russia were depleting stock, after which production and sales of Coke and other brands would stop in Russia.
PepsiCo said in March it would continue to sell daily essentials, such as milk and other dairy offerings, baby formula and baby food, in Russia. The company has operated in Russia for more than 60 years and its colas were one of the few Western products allowed in the Soviet Union prior to its collapse.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
PepsiCo finally stops producing Pepsi and 7UP in Russia
The continued availability highlights the complexity of withdrawing from one of the world’s largest countries
New York/Moscow — PepsiCo has stopped making Pepsi, 7UP and Mountain Dew in Russia nearly six months after the US company said it would suspend sales and production after Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine.
Pepsi's announcement came after Reuters visited dozens of supermarkets, retailers and gyms in Moscow and beyond and found cans and bottles of Pepsi printed with July and August production dates from factories within Russia.
The most recent date on a Pepsi product was August 17.
In a statement to Reuters, the US company said it had stopped making concentrates for PepsiCola, Mirinda, 7Up and Mountain Dew in Russia.
“All concentrates have subsequently been exhausted in Russia and production has ended,” a PepsiCo spokesperson said on September 8, the first public statement on the matter since the company announced in early March it was suspending production, sales, promotional activities and advertising in Russia.
The spokesperson said this was “in line with the announcement we made in March 2022” but declined to comment when asked for an update on sales and whether they had been halted.
The continued production means fizzy drinks are still widely available in Moscow and also in Vladivostok in the far east and Krasnoyarsk in Siberia, according to a review by Reuters.
A gym owner in Moscow said it had placed an order with Pepsi as recently as mid-August.
The West has not sanctioned food and drink as part of sweeping measures aimed at punishing Russia over its actions in Ukraine.
But the continued availability highlights the complexity of withdrawing from one of the world’s largest countries. In 2021, Russia was New York-based Pepsi’s third-biggest market, after the US and Mexico.
Earlier in the northern hemisphere summer, shops in the capital were still selling off stockpiles of foreign beers, months after the brewers said they would halt production.
Atlanta-based rival Coca-Cola’s production in Russia also continued after it said in March it would suspend operations.
The company said in June its bottler, Coca-Cola HBC, a separate company, and existing customers in Russia were depleting stock, after which production and sales of Coke and other brands would stop in Russia.
PepsiCo said in March it would continue to sell daily essentials, such as milk and other dairy offerings, baby formula and baby food, in Russia. The company has operated in Russia for more than 60 years and its colas were one of the few Western products allowed in the Soviet Union prior to its collapse.
Reuters
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