PepsiCo, in an attempt to regain consumers affected by inflation a few months ago, had reduced prices. Now, the company has raised prices on some of its popular snacks and sodas, including Doritos, Ruffles, and SunChips.
According to a recent report by the New York Post, the company stated that due to the rising costs of fuel, aluminum, and agricultural supplies, prices of certain snacks and beverages will increase by single-digit percentages.
However, the company mentioned that the new prices will still be lower than the prices at the beginning of the year.
Reuters reported that this price increase comes after PepsiCo announced a price reduction of up to 15% on some products (including Ruffles and Doritos) in February. The company had decided to slash prices significantly due to strong customer resistance following previous price hikes.
This latest price hike marks a shift in strategy for the food and beverage giant.
According to The Washington Post, PepsiCo attributed part of the recent price increase to rising costs related to conflicts with Iran and tariffs.
PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta stated during a conference call on Thursday, October 8th, that the price cuts had attracted some customers back, but the company’s North American division had weaker performance in the third quarter than expected.
Laguarta expressed the company’s hope for a quicker turnaround in this trend, noting that the snack sales of Frito-Lay were on par with the same period last year while beverage sales declined by 2%.
He also admitted that the company’s sodas, including its flagship brand Pepsi, faced tough competition with rivals.
“We are not optimistic about the outlook for the beverage industry,” he said.
Laguarta added that PepsiCo would focus its efforts on improving the performance of soft drinks.
According to The Washington Post, PepsiCo plans to cut costs and reinvest the savings into beverage brands such as Poppi, Mountain Dew, and Pepsi.
Pepsi, although similar in Chinese name to Coca-Cola, is a completely separate publicly traded company that competes as a rival in the global carbonated beverage market.
(Adapted from a report by FOX BUSINESS)