Pepsi® Recruits NFL Superstars To Teach Fans How To Talk Trash - And Recycle - This Football Season

PURCHASE, N.Y., Sept. 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Pepsi launches Pepsi Trash Talk– an interactive sustainability platform aimed at teaching consumers the ins and outs of recycling, with the help of an all-star lineup of trash talkin' NFL athletes. A series of mini public service announcements (PSAs) feature pro players in all their competitive glory – taking the trash talk from the field to the recycling bin.

About Pepsi Trash Talk

With the 2021 NFL season in full swing, fans will undoubtedly be enjoying their favorite game day eats and ice-cold Pepsi from week to week. To encourage fans to properly recycle their bottles and cans post gameday, Pepsi Trash Talk is here to explain the process.

Fans can visit PepsiTrashTalk.com to check out their favorite players like Justin Herbert, Josh Allen, Chase Claypool and more, who offer similar tips and tricks on recycling and trash talking. An interactive educational game on PepsiTrashTalk.com challenges fans to spot the difference between recyclables and trash, and a Pepsi Trash Talk Hall of Fame will celebrate fans who unapologetically show off their best trash talk. Pepsi Trash Talk will also be supported via a robust media plan, including content and live reads on top sports podcasts and digital channels from the king of trash talk himself, Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders.

"Pepsi and I go way back – we've been working together for a long time, and I love a good Pepsi, so the opportunity to work again and have some fun sharing a positive message, I've been all in from the get-go," said NFL legend and JSU Head Football Coach Deion Sanders. "Trash talk was my bread and butter on the field, and still is – so to take the fun and excitement of trash talk to share an important message about recycling, we're excited to educate the fans out there and talk some smack while we're at it!"

Pepsi Brand's Recycled Plastic (rPET) Commitment

Pepsi Trash Talk celebrates the brand's important move to sustainable packaging as it announces its goal that all Pepsi-branded products in the U.S. will be converted to 100% rPET bottles by 2030, with Pepsi Zero Sugar beginning to be sold in 100% rPET bottles by 2022. PepsiCo estimates that moving to a 100% rPET bottle will lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by approximately 30% per bottle, with 22 global markets now offering a PepsiCo product in 100% rPET packaging and 11 European markets moving key Pepsi-branded¹ products to 100% rPET bottles by 2022.

"As we look towards a brighter future, it is critical that our brands be a force for good to accelerate the positive change we need around sustainability. From educating consumers on the importance of recycling and the planetary impacts of their choices, to taking accountability ourselves committing our biggest brand to become built out of 100% recycled plastic, is a big step forward," said Todd Kaplan, VP – Marketing, Pepsi. "Consumers play a vital role in the availability of rPET, so we are proudly using our most influential platform, the NFL, to create a sustainability-forward narrative that drives recycling awareness, education and advocacy in an entertaining way, authentic to our brand and audience."

About pep+ (pep Positive)

The important steps by Pepsi across its portfolio complement PepsiCo's introduction today of pep+ (pep Positive), a strategic end-to-end transformation with sustainability at the center of how the company will create growth and value by operating within planetary boundaries and inspiring positive change for the planet and people, and new goals to cut virgin plastic per serving by 50% across its global food and beverage portfolio by 2030², using 50% recycled content in its plastic packaging, among other levers. pep+ will guide how PepsiCo will transform its business operations: from sourcing ingredients and making and selling its products in a more sustainable way, to leveraging its more than one billion connections with consumers each day to take sustainability mainstream and engage people to make choices that are better for themselves and the planet.

"pep+ is the future of our company – a fundamental transformation of what we do and how we do it to create growth and shared value with sustainability and human capital at the center. It reflects a new business reality, where consumers are becoming more interested in the future of the planet and society," said Ramon Laguarta, PepsiCo's Chairman and CEO. "pep+ will change our brands and how they win in the market. For example, imagine Lay's will start with a potato grown sustainably on a regenerative field, and then be cooked and delivered from a Net-Zero and Net Water Positive supply chain, sold in a bio-compostable bag, with the lowest sodium levels in the market. That's a positive choice. That's the best tasting, #1 potato chip of the future. That's how pep+ will be better for people, for the planet, and for our business. Now, imagine the scale and impact when applied to all 23 of our billion-dollar brands."

To learn more about pep+, please visit www.pepsico.com/pepsicopositive, and for more on the Pepsi Trash Talk initiative, visit PepsiTrashTalk.com.

Media Contact: [email protected]

About PepsiCo 

PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $70 billion in net revenue in 2020, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker Tropicana, and SodaStream. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 23 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales. Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Convenient Foods and Beverages by Winning with Purpose. "Winning with Purpose" reflects our ambition to win sustainably in the marketplace and embed purpose into all aspects of our business strategy and brands.  For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.

Cautionary Statement

This release contains statements reflecting our views about our future performance that constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are generally identified through the inclusion of words such as "aim," "anticipate," "believe," "drive," "estimate," "expect," "goal," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "strategy," "target" and "will" or similar statements or variations of such terms and other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted in such statements, including the impact of COVID-19; future demand for PepsiCo's products; damage to PepsiCo's reputation or brand image; issues or concerns with respect to product quality and safety; PepsiCo's ability to compete effectively; water scarcity; changes in the retail landscape or in sales to any key customer; disruption of PepsiCo's supply chain; political or social conditions in the markets where PepsiCo's products are made, manufactured, distributed or sold; future cyber incidents and other disruptions; climate change or measures to address climate change; imposition or proposed imposition of new or increased taxes aimed at PepsiCo's products; imposition of limitations on the marketing or sale of PepsiCo's products; changes in laws and regulations related to the use or disposal of plastics or other packaging of PepsiCo's products; and failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations.  For additional information on these and other factors that could cause PepsiCo's actual results to materially differ from those set forth herein, please see PepsiCo's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent annual report on Form 10-K and subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. PepsiCo undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

¹ Includes Pepsi, Pepsi MAX, Pepsi MAX Lime, Pepsi MAX without caffeine, Pepsi Light, Pepsi Light without caffeine.

² Against 2020 baseline.

SOURCE PepsiCo

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