Case Study: Pepsi’s Fast-Food Troika
The mid-1990’s were not particularly kind to Pepsi Co.  Its flagship Pepsi product was losing ground to Coke in the United States and abroad, and Diet Pepsi had slipped to fourth among soft drinks (behind Coca-Cola’s Sprite citrus soda). Even the fast-food chains that had provided Pepsi with substantial revenue growth over the prior two decades — Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and Kentucky Fried Chicken — were experiencing declining revenues.  Only the Frito-Lay snack division continued to outperform its rivals.  In 1997 Pepsi spun off its fast-food operations into an independent company called Tricon. When it acquired Pizza Hut and Taco Bell in the 1970s, Pepsi seemed intent on becoming the world’s largest fast-food vendor.  After it successfully digested the pizza and taco chains, it was widely expected to further expand its fast-food empire.  By the mid-1980s, Pepsi’s next target was rumored to be Wendy’s Continue reading