What brands does Pepsi own?

Pepsi owns dozens of brands, both well-known and lesser-known internationally. Among its soda brands, in addition to its namesake brands, are Mountain Dew, Mug Root Beer, Starry (which replaced Sierra Mist), and Stubborn Soda. Other beverage brands include Gatorade and Aquafina. It also produces ready-to-drink bottled beverages licensed from Starbucks and Lipton and owns Rockstar Energy. Under the snacks category, Pepsi is best known for Frito-Lay, which includes snack brands like Fritos, Lay's, Doritos, and Cheetos. The company owns Quaker Foods, which it acquired in the same deal that brought it Gatorade.

What does Pepsi own vs. Coke?

Pepsi and Coca-Cola compete head-to-head in many of the same beverage categories. Cola is the most obvious one, but both companies also have iced tea, sports drinks, bottled water, and energy drinks. Pepsi owns Pure Leaf and Brisk and licenses Lipton for ready-to-drink iced teas. It owns Aquafina in bottled water, Gatorade in sports drinks, and Rockstar in energy drinks. Although each company has beverages that are unique categories, there is significant overlap in the beverage category portfolio between the two companies.

Is Pepsi now owned by Coca-Cola?

Pepsi is not owned by Coca-Cola. The two companies have competed for more than 100 years and are the world's biggest beverage companies. They effectively have a duopoly in the beverages sector, though they do compete with smaller companies like Keurig Dr Pepper (NASDAQ:KDP).

Is Starbucks owned by PepsiCo?

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) is not owned by PepsiCo. However, the two beverage giants have a strategic partnership that began in the 1990s, with Pepsi producing Starbucks' ready-to-drink bottled beverages for retail sale. While the partnership has been successful for both companies, it is unlikely to advance beyond its current stage to a full acquisition, given the size of both companies and the risk of attracting regulatory scrutiny.

What Companies Does PepsiCo Own?

What Does Pepsi Own?

By Jeremy Bowman – Updated Sep 30, 2026 at 11:17 PM EST | Fact-checked by Frank Bass

Key Points

PepsiCo, beyond sodas, owns a variety of major food brands and maintains diverse product lines.
Strategic acquisitions like Frito-Lay and Quaker have significantly shaped PepsiCo's market presence.
Pepsi continues to diversify through new acquisitions such as Siete Foods and Poppi, following food trends.

PepsiCo (PEP -0.69%) is one of the biggest consumer products companies in the world, but Pepsi's assets go well beyond its namesake soda brand.

It's diversified across supermarket aisles with a portfolio spanning both food and beverage brands, making Pepsi a solid investment option. Unlike rival Coca-Cola (KO +0.24%), which only owns beverages, Pepsi owns some healthy brands in addition to sodas and snacks.

Loading paragraph...

A graphic showing logos of the companies that Pepsi has complete or partial ownership over and the percentage that it owns. — Image source: The Motley Fool.

Loading image...

Like its peers in the beverage industry, the company has grown from humble origins more than 100 years ago by launching new brands, expanding its distribution worldwide, and making numerous acquisitions that have given it ownership of dozens of global and local brands. It also has valuable licensing arrangements with brands like Starbucks (SBUX +3.89%) and Lipton.

Although the business is placed in the consumer staples category, many of its products are discretionary purchases.

Loading paragraph...

What companies does Pepsi own?

Pepsi's portfolio primarily consists of sodas and non-carbonated beverages, snacks, and other foods. Over the years, the company has experimented with other types of businesses, such as restaurants, but today it is squarely focused on packaged food and beverage products, supplying grocery stores, convenience stores, restaurants, and other retail businesses through a massive distribution network.

Loading paragraph...

1. Mountain Dew (1964): 100% ownership

Mountain Dew was Pepsi's first major acquisition and is one of the most popular sodas in the country, behind Coke, Diet Coke, and Pepsi.

Mountain Dew was invented in the 1940s and sold in Virginia and Tennessee. Pepsi expanded its distribution nationwide after the acquisition.

Loading paragraph...

2. Frito-Lay (1965): 100% ownership

The deal that gave the modern-day PepsiCo its shape was its 1965 merger with Frito-Lay, the leading snack maker and owner of brands including Fritos, Lay's, Ruffles, and Doritos.

The deal marked Pepsi's first foray into the food industry and came just four years after The Frito Company had merged with H.W. Lay & Company, forming Frito-Lay. At the time of the merger with Pepsi, Frito-Lay had 46 plants in North America and stakes in European businesses, indicating it was a sizable company.

Pepsi also renamed itself from The Pepsi-Cola Company to PepsiCo after the deal, reflecting its diversification.

The Frito-Lay North America division now contributes 26% of Pepsi's total revenue, or $25 billion as of 2025.

Loading paragraph...

3. Mug Root Beer (1986): 100% ownership

Pepsi's current root beer brand is Mug, which it acquired in 1986 when it bought the New Century Beverage Company, replacing its existing root beer brand, OnTap Draft. According to PepsiCo, root beer is the second-largest carbonated drink flavor in the U.S. after cola.

Loading paragraph...

4. Tropicana (1998): 39% ownership

In 1998, PepsiCo made its largest acquisition to date, acquiring the Tropicana juice business from Seagram for $3.3 billion.

The move heightened Pepsi's competition with Coca-Cola, which acquired Minute Maid in 1960 and still owns it.

At the time, Tropicana was the leader in "not from concentrate" juice.

In 2022, Pepsi sold its majority stake in Tropicana and other juices in its portfolio for $3.3 billion, but Pepsi will retain a 39% stake in a newly formed joint venture with private equity firm PAI Partners.

Loading paragraph...

5. Quaker (2001): 100% ownership

In 2001, Pepsi made a significantly larger acquisition than the Tropicana deal, shelling out $13 billion to acquire the Quaker Oats Company.

The Quaker deal brought Pepsi Quaker-branded products like oats and granola bars, but it also gave it Gatorade, the leading sports drink brand, which was believed to be its primary reason for making the deal. Quaker also owns packaged foods brands like Rice-a-Roni, Pearl Milling Company (formerly known as Aunt Jemima), and Cap'n Crunch.

For Pepsi, the move was a response to a shift in consumer tastes away from sodas, which led the company to believe it needed to diversify its portfolio.

Quaker Foods North America, which does not include Gatorade, accounts for between 3% and 5% of the company's total revenue, with $2.8 billion in 2025.

Loading paragraph...

6. Sabra and Obela (2008, 2012): 100% ownership

You might be surprised to learn that PepsiCo owns the popular hummus brand Sabra and Obela, its sister dip brand. Pepsi formed a joint venture with Strauss Group and acquired a 50% ownership stake in Sabra in 2008. They expanded the partnership to other products in 2011, and acquired 50% of Obela in 20212.

In November 2024, PepsiCo announced it would acquire full ownership of the two brands, though terms were undisclosed.

Today, Sabra is a leading hummus brand with almost $400 million in annual retail sales in the U.S.

Loading paragraph...

7. SodaStream (2018): 100% ownership

In 2018, PepsiCo made a somewhat surprising move, acquiring SodaStream for $3.2 billion. SodaStream is best known for its countertop DIY soda machines and has extended Pepsi's exposure to healthier drinks, since SodaStream is often used for seltzer water.

The deal represents Pepsi's interest in going further into the water and sparkling water industries, and it launched the Bubly brand around the same time.

Loading paragraph...

8. Muscle Milk (2019): 100% ownership

Pepsi acquired the CytoSport sports nutrition business, the parent of Muscle Milk, from Hormel (HRL +1.92%) in 2019. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Hormel acquired CytoSport in 2014 for $450 million to gain the Muscle Milk brand, known for ready-to-drink beverages, protein powders, sports bars, and energy chews.

Loading paragraph...

9. Pipers Crisps (2019): 100% ownership

To complement its snack portfolio anchored by Frito-Lay, PepsiCo acquired Pipers Crisps in 2019. Pepsi paid approximately $30 million for the U.K. brand known for its premium chips.

10. Pioneer Foods (2020): 100% ownership

Pepsi's $1.7 billion purchase of Pioneer Foods might not have gotten much attention in the U.S. because Pioneer is a South African company.

Pioneer Foods is one of South Africa's largest food producers and distributors, known for snack foods and other packaged foods, and exports to 80 countries.

Loading paragraph...

11. Rockstar Energy (2020): 100% ownership

Pepsi was a bit late to the energy drink market, leveraging the Mountain Dew brand for new energy drinks. But in 2020, the company entered the space with the $3.85 billion acquisition of Rockstar Energy Beverages. The news comes years after Coke formed a strategic partnership with Monster Beverage (MNST +2.53%).

Loading paragraph...

12. Celsius (2022): 11% ownership

PepsiCo followed up its acquisition of Rockstar Energy by forging a strategic partnership with Celsius Holdings, known for its sugar-free energy drinks. As part of that agreement, Pepsi invested $550 million for an 8.5% ownership stake in Celsius. As of 2025, Pepsi increased its investment to 11% of the company.

While Celsius was growing rapidly at the time, the partnership hit a roadblock in 2024 after Pepsi overstocked its Celsius inventory, leading to a plunge in the energy drink company's revenue growth.

Loading paragraph...

13. Siete Foods (2025): 100% ownership

Pepsi acquired Siete Foods for $1.2 billion in a deal that closed in Jan 2025.

Siete Foods makes a wide range of grain-free snacks, including tortilla chips and tortillas made with flours such as almond and cassava. It also makes salsa, enchilada sauce, and other condiments.

Loading paragraph...

14. Poppi (2025): 100% ownership

Pepsi followed up the Siete acquisition with a deal to purchase Poppi, a maker of prebiotic soda, for $1.65 billion, including $300 million in cash tax benefits.

The combination of those two moves shows Pepsi is eager to stay on top of emerging food trends.

Loading paragraph...

What companies could Pepsi buy in the future?

Pepsi seems likely to continue pursuing its acquisition strategy of acquiring food and beverage brands.

Pepsi previously pursued Vita Coco (COCO -1.52%), so it wouldn't be surprising to see it make another offer for that company, especially since its growth has been impressive, and coconut water is a growth category in the beverage industry.

On the food and snack front, there are a range of directions Pepsi could go. Rival Hershey (HSY +2.70%) has pivoted towards protein-rich snacks due to slowing growth in candy, and Pepsi could make a similar move, acquiring a jerky brand or another protein-based snack to complement its ownership of Muscle Milk.

It could also follow Coca-Cola into categories where it doesn't yet compete, like milk. Coke acquired Fairlife, a protein-fortified milk, and has grown it into a brand that generates $1 billion in revenue every year.

In the 1980s, PepsiCo owned restaurants, including Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and KFC, which later became Yum! Brands (YUM +2.82%). It even owned Wilson Sporting Goods and North American Van Lines moving company, but sold both in the 1980s.

Today, the company seems unlikely to venture outside of packaged food and beverages.

Loading paragraph...

The bottom line

Pepsi has grown into a diversified packaged foods and beverages giant through a combination of acquisitions, licensing, and the development of its own brands.

Much like Coca-Cola, Pepsi's size gives it a competitive advantage, as smaller brands struggle to match its distribution network and marketing expertise. Its scale also helps Pepsi increase sales for the brands it acquires since it can ramp up distribution and give it more visibility in stores with a marketing push.

So far, that strategy has worked well for Pepsi. It continues to deliver steady growth and reward investors through a rising share price and increasing dividends. It's likely to continue to execute that strategy through acquisitions and expansions.

Loading paragraph...

Companies Pepsi owns: FAQ

Loading faq...

About the Author

Jeremy Bowman has been a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst, covering technology, consumer goods, and macroeconomic trends since 2011. Before The Motley Fool, Jeremy was a newspaper reporter, restaurant manager, and English teacher abroad. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Colorado College and a master’s degree in business administration from American University. One of his Motley Fool headlines was briefly featured on Late Night with Stephen Colbert.

TMFHobo

@TMFBowman

Jeremy Bowman has positions in Starbucks. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Hershey, Monster Beverage, and Starbucks. The Motley Fool recommends Yum! Brands. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

What Does Pepsi Own?

Key Points