Hot Beverage Companies To Own For 2015

Hot Beverage Companies To Own For 2015: Pepsico Inc.(PEP)

PepsiCo, Inc. engages in the manufacture, marketing, and sale of foods, snacks, and carbonated and non-carbonated beverages worldwide. The company operates in four divisions: PepsiCo Americas Foods (PAF); PepsiCo Americas Beverages (PAB); PepsiCo Europe; and PepsiCo Asia, Middle East, and Africa (AMEA). The PAF division offers Lay?s and Ruffles potato chips, Doritos and Tostitos tortilla chips and dips, Cheetos cheese flavored snacks, Fritos corn chips, Quaker Chewy granola bars, and SunChips multigrain snacks in North America; Quaker oatmeal, Aunt Jemima mixes and syrups, Cap?n Crunch cereal, Quaker grits, and Life cereal, as well as Rice-A-Roni, Pasta Roni, and Near East side dishes in North America; and various snack foods under Doritos, Marias Gamesa, Cheetos, Ruffles, Emperador, Saladitas, Sabritas, and Lay?s brands in Latin America. The PAB division provides carbonated soft drinks, beverage concentrates, fountain syrups, and finished goods under Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, 7UP, Tropicana Pure Premium, Electropura, Sierra Mist, Epura, and Mirinda brands; ready-to-drink tea, coffee, and water products through joint ventures with Unilever and Starbucks; and sells concentrate to authorized bottlers, and branded finished goods directly to independent distributors and retailers. This division also manufactures third-party brands, such as Dr Pepper, Crush, Rock Star, and Muscle Milk. The PepsiCo Europe division offers Frito Lay Snacks, Pepsi-Cola beverages, Gatorade sports drinks, Tropicana juices, and Quaker foods in Europe. The AMEA division provides snack food under the Lay?s, Kurkure, Chipsy, Doritos, Smith?s, Cheetos, Red Rock Deli, and Ruffles brands; Quaker-brand cereals and snacks; and beverage concentrates, fountain syrups, and finished goods under the Pepsi, Mirinda, 7UP, and Mountain Dew brands. PepsiCo, Inc. was founded in 1898 and is! headquartered in Purchase, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Shares of Dr. Pepper (DPS) have been trouncing those of Coca-Cola (KO), PepsiCo (PEP) and even Monster Beverage (MNST) this year–but today it’s getting pounded thanks to a Citigroup downgrade.

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  www.tacobell.com It's a quesadilla. It's a burrito. It's a Quesarito. Yum! Brands' (YUM) Taco Bell rolled out the Quesarito nationwide on Monday. The burrito wrapped in a quesadilla is the latest bold move by the Mexican fast food chain that's been raising the flavor bar with everything from Doritos-dusted taco shells to waffle-backed breakfast sandwiches. The new treat is cheap, just like most Taco Bell creations. The suggested retail price is just $1.99 for ground beef. Shredded chicken is $2.79, and steak is $2.99. The decadent concoction -- where a quesadilla blankets seasoned rice, chipotle sauce and reduced-fat sour cream -- starts at 620 calories and 30 grams of fat. If early results are any indication, the Quesarito is going to be a big fat hit for Taco Bell. A Quesarito By Any Other Name PYum! Brands -- the quick-service giant that's also behind Pizza Hut and KFC -- claims that the Quesarito was a hot seller in Taco Bell's test markets before the national rollout on Monday. The only product that fared better is the Doritos Locos Tacos, and that was a marriage made in fast food heaven. Doritos is owned by PepsiCo (PEP), the soda and salty snacks giant that once owned Taco Bell before spinning off its eateries as Yum! Brands. It made perfect sense that the two should come together to create taco shells flavored after popular Doritos corn chip varieties. Taco Bell has gone on to sell 825 million Doritos Locos Tacos since being introduced two years ago. The origin of the Quesarito is unusual. It's been a "secret menu" item at Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) for some time. It has the same name. It shares the same concept of a quesad! illa doub! ling as a flour tortilla in a burrito. The Chipotle Quesarito costs more and has more ingredients. It's also larger. It's premature to say that Taco Bell is copying Chipotle because no one really knows where the decadent practice of a burrito-stuffed quesadilla originated. However, it won't be long that it becomes

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  www.sodastreamusa.com There's no shortage of people who despise Coca-Cola (KO) and PepsiCo (PEP). Health food buffs oppose the high-fructose corn syrup that's a top ingredient in soft drinks. Parents blame sugary sodas for a spike in childhood obesity. Others wonder about the potential health risks from the artificial sweeteners used in diet sodas. However, their most unlikely foe may be SodaStream (SODA). It might seem odd for the leader of in-home carbonation to be poking at the two beverage giants. If it takes too many shots at their products, won't that eventually upend the consumption of flavored carbonated beverages that SodaStream is championing? SodaStream's clearly not worried about that: It feels that its product is differentiated enough where it can afford to target Coca-Cola and PepsiCo in Super Bowl ads, traveling exhibits, marketing campaigns and now its conference calls. Pop Quiz Still, investors probably didn't expect SodaStream to take a jab at Coke and Pepsi during last week's quarterly results conference call that went beyond the health and wellness arguments that have long been a part of its marketing mantra. However, when SodaStream was asked about Coca-Cola taking a 16 percent stake in Keurig Green Mountain (GMCR), jab they did. Coca-Cola will provide its flavors for Keurig Cold when it hits the market as early as this holiday shopping season. A big part of the theory for Coca-Cola backing the unproven Keurig Cold platform is that the flavor pods will provide consistent carbonation levels so every drink will taste the same. That's a stark contrast from SodaStream, where owners can dictate the carbonation levels. "The ! argument ! that the consumer wants exact dosing is a reflection of the trap that those beverage companies are in," SodaStream CEO Dan Birnbaum said. "The consumer does not want exact dosing. The consumer wants to be trusted and empowered to make their beverage the way they want, with the amount of bubbles they want, and the

• [By abirk]

  Moreover, the company needs to cash in on its advantages over Coca-Cola (KO) and PepsiCo (PEP) products. Both of the beverage giants have faced increasing pressure about obesity and other health impacts from sugary soft drinks, while SodaStream's flexibility in letting owners change syrup levels or make spritzers from juice or other healthy drinks gives it a huge competitive advantage. Efforts like its GreenSanta campaign can highlight not only beneficial health impact but also the environmental advantages of SodaStream over products from Coca-Cola and PepsiCo.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/hot-beverage-companies-to-own-for-2015-2.html