VARGEM GRANDE DO SUL, Brazil * — PepsiCo sees the shift toward healthier eating — including the growing use of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs — less as a threat to its snack business than as a reason to adapt products to consumers who are eating less and becoming more selective.
Consumers still seek moments of indulgence even as they pay closer attention to calories, sugar and other nutritional information, said Martin Ribichich, president of PepsiCo’s Brazilian food unit. That creates room for the maker of Lay’s, Ruffles, Doritos, Cheetos and Torcida snacks to adjust its portfolio without abandoning the flavors and eating occasions that underpin demand.
“The consumer is more complex, with different needs and new consumption occasions,” Ribichich said in an interview with The AgriBiz during a field day at Fazenda Casa Branca in Vargem Grande do Sul, São Paulo state. “But there is still that craving, that moment when they want something with intense flavor.”
Sharing food with friends or family while watching sports remains an important occasion, he said, even if the product consumers choose changes. PepsiCo has sought to reinforce that link through sports marketing, including Lay’s sponsorship of soccer’s World Cup.
The company sells more than 200 million bags of snacks a month in Brazil, a country of just over 210 million people, according to Ribichich. He said the scale illustrates how consumption occasions have multiplied across a market where preferences vary widely by region.
“Brazil is a continental country. The consumer in São Paulo is not the same as the consumer in Recife,” he said.
Doritos Protein
PepsiCo is already experimenting with products designed around changing nutritional priorities.
In the US, it has launched Doritos Protein, a version of the corn-based snack fortified with protein derived from casein, a milk protein. The limited-edition product also contains no artificial colors or flavors, unlike the original version.
PepsiCo would not say whether it plans to launch the product in Brazil, but said it is a possibility.
“I can’t give away any spoilers, but it is part of our research-and-development agenda and reflects a market trend,” said Isabela Malpighi, PepsiCo’s chief sustainability officer for Latin America.
Adding protein does not necessarily make a snack healthy, nutrition experts caution, but the strategy reflects consumers’ growing focus on nutritional attributes.
Ribichich said simpler product messaging is also gaining importance. Lay’s, for example, emphasizes that its chips contain just three ingredients: potatoes, oil and salt.
“The consumer wants to take care of themselves, so they are looking for a better balance,” he said.
Malpighi said PepsiCo is also working to reduce sugar across its Latin American portfolio. More than 90% of its products in the region now avoid front-of-pack warning labels for high levels of sodium, sugar or saturated fat, she said.
‘License to Operate’
Sustainability is another force reshaping PepsiCo’s business, particularly its agricultural supply chain.
Ribichich cited a phrase used by global Chief Executive Officer Ramon Laguarta: sustainability is not an obligation, but the company’s “license to operate on the planet.”
PepsiCo says 100% of the potatoes it sources in Brazil are produced by growers adopting at least two regenerative-agriculture practices. The company buys about 150,000 metric tons of potatoes annually out of a total 450,000 metric tons of agricultural raw materials.
Its PepsiCo Positive, or pep+, regenerative-agriculture program aims to expand such practices globally to 4 million hectares (9.9 million acres) by 2030. The company is also investing in soil restoration and climate resilience as forecasts point to a potentially very strong El Niño.
PepsiCo aims to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 and says it has already met a target of replenishing 100% of the water used in its operations.
Since 2024, a project at its factory in Itu, São Paulo state, developed with Ultragás has used landfill-derived biomethane in industrial operations and in 70% of the company’s primary truck fleet. PepsiCo plans to expand the initiative to other plants.
“We can’t control climate change, but when we invest in technology, biomethane and agricultural resilience, sustainability becomes about business continuity,” Malpighi said.
Felipe Carvalho, PepsiCo Brazil’s agribusiness director, said environmental measures can also improve farm economics, particularly as producers prepare for weather risks linked to El Niño.
“Efficient irrigation isn’t just about using less water, but applying the right amount and using technology to make decisions,” Carvalho said. “It is about using the resource more efficiently and also managing costs more efficiently.”
* The reporter traveled at PepsiCo’s invitation.
This story was translated from the original Portuguese with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by The AgriBiz editorial staff.
