A longtime Pepsi executive has issued a cryptic message as he prepares to leave the company, just days after the soft drink lost its position as America’s second-favorite soda.
Todd Kaplan – who oversaw last year’s mega-million-dollar rebrand – is leaving after 17 years.
In a LinkedIn post, he had left to ‘pursue an opportunity outside of the company’. He accompanied the message with a rocket ship emoji.
On Monday, it emerged that Pepsi has slipped to number 3 – behind Dr Pepper – for soda sales in the US.
Coca-Cola, the bitter rival it almost overtook in the cola wars of the 1980s, is well clear in top spot at number one.
Todd Kaplan and influencer Zach King at the YouTube Brandcast 2024 at David Geffen Hall on May 15, 2024 in New York City
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Kaplan became chief marketing officer in 2022, after holding other senior marketing roles.
In 2023, he oversaw the first logo and product redesign in 14 years and pivoted the brand away from the Super Bowl halftime show.
His departure coming after reports of Pepsi’s sales falling is a coincidence, a Pepsi insider said.
In the post, Kaplan wrote: ‘Since joining PepsiCo as an MBA intern, I’ve been fortunate to be able to cram the equivalent of 10 careers into one.’
The news comes days after the standard version of Dr Pepper overook Pepsi for market share in America.
As recently as 20 years ago, Dr Pepper’s sales were under half those of Pepsi.
At the time, one in nine sodas bought in the US were Pepsi, and Dr Pepper was only the sixth most popular behind Sprite.
The chart below, based on a report from Beverage Digest, shows how market share for the two has converged – with Dr Pepper now very slightly ahead.
Coke is still the undisputed king of the $97 billion US soda industry with more than double the market shares of any of its rivals at 19.18 percent.
Pepsi’s market share is 8.31 percent, and Dr Pepper now 8.34 percent.
The Pepsi brand remains the overall No 2 soda – when taking into acount the diet and zero sugar versions.
Soft drink price rises have hit consumers over the past two years.
Coca-Cola recently revealed the full extend of its price hikes. At its earning for the first three months of the year, bosses said the company had boosted profits in the – driven by customers buying more drinks at higher prices.
Globally, its drinks – which also include Minute Maid, Topo Chico, Smart Water and Costa cost an astonishing 13 percent more on average than the start of 2023.
Despite the price hikes, the number of cans, bottles and fountain drinks it sold grew 1 percent between January and March compared to a year ago.
That double-whammy of more drinks sold at a higher prices helped bump revenue up 3 percent to $11.3 billion, Coca-Cola said today as it reported quarterly earnings. Profits were up slightly too to $3.18 billion for the three months.