R & D
PEPSI ’ S PORTFOLIO EXPANDS far beyond a range of iconic colaflavoured soft drinks . From Walkers crisps and Quaker porridge oats to 7up and Tropicana juices , PepsiCo is home to a wide-ranging series of brands , 22 of which net the company $ 1bn-plus in sales each year , helping to generate a total revenue 50 % higher than that of Coca-Cola .
Maintaining such a large portfolio of well-established names requires striking a delicate balance between innovation of new flavours and preservation of consumer favourites which have stood the test of time .
This is no mean task , and one to which Pepsi dedicated US $ 760mn last year in the form of R & D activity . From China to the UK , the company ’ s innovation centres continue to respond to consumer lifestyle trends in order to test and develop the next wave of fit-for-purpose food and drink .
Tammy Butterworth is Global R & D Manager for PepsiCo ’ s grains division , which primarily concerns the Quaker range of porridge oatbased products . Having moved from pet snack development at Mars to food and drink innovation at Britvic , the UK bottler for Pepsi , Butterworth has been behind the launch and rebranding of several well-known PepsiCo brands since 2009 .
“ I ’ ve worked closely with our snack categories as technical brand manager in charge of everything from the quality of the products to the innovation and renovation programmes ,” she recalls . “ Now I am in a global R & D manager role looking after innovation in our grains segment , managing the development of products that will launch globally in the UK , Western Europe , North America , China and South America .”
The PepsiCo approach While Butterworth cannot disclose details of products yet to be launched by Pepsi , she can attest to the meticulous processes and consumer engagement that inspire flavour development .
“ Our R & D is not a case of our teams simply working on things from a technical point of view ,” she explains . “ We work very closely with consumers to understand
16 December 2017