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It is fizziness leader for the first time! Pepsi cans Coke
PEPSI have overtaken Coca-Cola in the stock market for the first time. For more than a century Coke have been acknowledged as the world leaders in the fizz biz. But now Pepsi have edged ahead of their sweet-tasting rivals in the bitter battle of mega business brands. The world famous American colas have been battling for control of the soft drinks business since they were created at the end of the 19th Century. But it was always Coca-Cola -founded in 1886 -that did best financially. Now Pepsi have risen to the top by buying other companies and taking advantage of a worldwide trend for healthier drinks. This month PepsiCo's stock market value was £56.76billion, while Coca Cola was £56.48billion. That is a major turnaround -in early 2000 Coca-Cola were valued almost three times higher than their rivals. PepsiCo believe they are winning the battle because the company were quicker to realise people were worried about getting fat by consuming too many fizzy drinks. So 107-year-old PepisCo have taken over fruit juice business Tropicana and the energy drink Gatorade and merged with cereal manufacturer Quaker Oats in the past seven years. PepsiCo also own Aquafina, the largest bottled water brand in the US, and Liptons Iced Tea. They also own Britain's largest crisp makers Walkers, who make Monster Munch and Wotsits crisps. ... American lawyer Richard Daynard, who took on the tobacco industry, is planning to file a legal action in Massachusetts against both PepsiCo and Coca-Cola. In the lawsuit he will accuse them of encouraging America's youth to become obese. He says it's "just wrong" to sell nutritionless drinks that make children fat. But despite fears about obesity, Coca-Cola remains the best selling soft drink in the world. And last year Coca-Cola was the best selling "take-home" soft drink in the UK with sales of £895million. Pepsi finished fourth with sales worth £213million.
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