Pepsi is selling Tropicana, Naked and other North American juice brands to private equity while still keeping its foot in its best-in-class brand.
The deal, with PAI Partners, will net $3.3 billion, while Pepsi retains a 39 percent noncontrolling interest in a newly formed joint venture.
The deal clears the way for the beverage giant to focus on healthier food and drinks.
In addition, it will allow us to concentrate on our current portfolio of diverse offerings, including growing our portfolio of healthy snacks, zero-calorie beverages, and products like SodaStream which are focused on being better for people and the planet, said PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Ramon Laguarta.
In the past several years, Pepsi has seen customers gravitate to healthier options – a move Hugh Johnston and vice chairman explained in an interview with FOX Business earlier this year.
If you look at our beverage business in general a lot of the growth comes from low to no sugar products. Bubly is a product that we created with terrific flavors, sparkling water and really I think cute and effective marketing which appeals to a broad market of consumers. That business is kind of gone from nothing to a multi-million $ 100 million business and Gatorade Zero has exploded on us he said.