Tag: Pepsi

Pepsi bottler wants to make the most of heat wave and growing refrigeration in villages

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

India’s Pepsi bottler Varun Beverages’ shares neared the 52-week high in early trade on May 14, a day after the firm released a strong first-quarter earnings report.

Varun Beverages shares traded 2.15%  higher at ₹1,509.35 on NSE at 10:24 am.

The gains come as Pepsi India bottler benefited from an uptick in demand for soft drinks in the January to March 2024 period due to an early onset of summer. The company witnessed almost 100% utilisation of the plant in April 2024.

It noted that consumers opted more for cold beverages amid the sweltering summer heat, helping boost the firm’s bottom-line numbers. It expects the strong demand trend to continue in the April to June 2024 quarter as well amid heatwave conditions.

Varun Beverages expects strong sales growth in 2QCY24 led by heat waves, elections, and a lower base in the corresponding quarter last year, brokerage firm Motilal Oswal pointed out.

The analyst has given it a buy rating and set the target price of ₹1,720, implying it sees a potential upside of 16% from the May 13 closing price.

According to Motilal Oswal, there are five reasons why it expects the earnings momentum to continue in the June quarter. Increased penetration in newly acquired territories in India and Africa, higher acceptance of newly launched products, continued expansion in capacity and distribution reach, growing refrigeration in rural and semi-rural areas, and a scale-up in international operations.

For the current quarter, the brokerage expects Varun Beverages to witness a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21% in revenue, 22% in EBITDA and 29% in profit after tax (PAT) over calendar years 2023-26.

Morgan Stanley has an overweight call on the stock with a target price of ₹1,701. It highlighted that the bottle makers’ Q1 earnings were 13% ahead of estimate and 11% above consensus with better margins. The management is optimistic about near-term demand trends in India and growth drivers in international markets, it added.

Meanwhile, Nuvama also expects the June quarter to be bumper due to a harsh summer and a low base.

The brokerage commentary comes against the backdrop of Varun Beverages reporting revenue of ₹4,398 crore for the January to March quarter, which on a year-on-year basis, was a growth of 11%. Net profit for the period increased by 25% to ₹537.2 crore. earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation increased by 24% to ₹990 crore, while EBITDA margin expanded by 230 basis points to 22.5% from 20.2% last year.

The company’s realisation per case increased by 3.5% during the quarter, when compared to the year-ago period, which reflected an improved product mix in India and higher contributions from the international markets, the company said in a statement.

Varun Beverages also said it is focusing on reducing sugar content in its products. Nearly 46% of the consolidated sales volume of the company came from no-sugar or low-sugar products.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Varun Beverages Africa market share can triple in 2-3 years, says management

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Varun Beverages can triple its market share in Africa in the next two to three years, said Ravi Kant Jaipuria, Chairman of PepsiCo’s largest franchise bottler, in an interaction with CNBC-TV18 on Thursday, December 21. On Tuesday, December 19, the firm announced its decision to buy The Beverage Company Ltd, South Africa, and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, collectively known as ‘Bevco’, for ₹1,320 crore.

“Wherever we have taken a new country or a new territory, we’ve been successful in growing the market share. Right now, against our main competitor, I think Pepsi’s share is only 2-3%. So there’s very little downside. There’s only upside, and I believe that it should triple or quadruple. This market share should not be a real challenge in the coming years,” said Jaipuria.

The management also sees an earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) addition of ₹250 crore in 2024 in the Africa business.

“South Africa business is about ₹1,600 crore top line at the moment within that 12% EBITDA, and we expect it to grow at a reasonably fast pace there. So I would say it’ll add about ₹200–250 crore additional to the EBITDA margins for the India business,” Jaipuria added.

For India, Jaipuria sees business continuing to grow in double digits with 22-23% margins. Varun Beverages has acquired the territories—east, west, and south—where the penetration of Pepsi is low, he further added.

On capacity addition, Jaipuria said, “Fortunately, this year we will have reasonably higher capacity also because in 2022, we ran out of capacity. So we have more than 45% capacity, which has been added for the year 2024.”

Varun Beverages Management also said that the capex can yield an additional ₹2,800 crore in revenue next year and closer to that in 2025 as well.

“Sting is still going quite strong,” said Jaipuria, while adding that the carbonated energy drink will become 15% of the mix. The company has also added two dairy plants where it can make Tropicana, which will give it growth and higher value penetration.

For more, watch the accompanying video

ALSO READ | Varun Beverages shares up 18x since IPO, but these investors missed the bus: CNBC-TV18 Edge

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Pepsi’s Saumya Rathor: We are building our muscle in the NFT space

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Beverage brand Pepsi’s fashion forays continue with a recent partnership with fashion label HUEMN to co-create a collection that was showcased by Bollywood actor Sara Ali Khan. The capsule collection will future HUEMN’s trademark design and aesthetic while staying true to Pepsi’s iconography.

In a conversation with Storyboard18, Saumya Rathor, category lead, Pepsi Cola, PepsiCo India talks about the partnership, marketing initiatives, and why the brand is building its muscles in the Web 3.0, NFT, and Metaverse space.

Edited excerpts: 

Why is Pepsi associating with a fashion brand? What value does this association add to the brand? 

Pepsi, as a brand, is always standing for the youth of the country. We really believe in this whole attitude of the youth, which is all about having a lot of self-belief, having a lot of confidence and being very irreverent. I think the youth of India have different ways of expressing their attitude. Sometimes, they express that through music or the clothes they wear. Essentially, it’s a way of bringing that uniqueness to the forefront. And as a brand that celebrates the youth and celebrates that ability of the youth to express themselves, we felt that this was quite a seamless integration because fashion is a method of self-expression. 

So, the collection is done by HUEMN, and we have a few pieces within that collection, and it will have the Pepsi logo. It’s essentially streetwear. Pepsi, as a brand, is all about really expressing. So, our collaboration is also in the lines that it should be easily accessible for the youth and easily wearable for the youth. And that’s the reason why we’ve selected this particular label, because they live by that ethos.

How has Pepsi merchandising helped the brand? 

There are very few brands that people like to wear, and Pepsi is one of them. We actually have constantly tied up in the past with labels and brands. We have done a HUEMN collaboration in 2019. We have a website where consumers can actually pick up Pepsi merchandise including Pepsi Cola tee shirts and hoodies and sippers etc. We are constantly looking for avenues by which consumers could get a chance to really keep a piece of Pepsi with them.

One of our biggest ways of actually building the merchandise is also through the use of our brand ambassadors. All our Pepsi films actually have our ambassadors wear a Pepsi tee shirt. We use our celebrities to also talk about Pepsi’s designs, so the people who are picking up our merchandise is actually very pervasive because the ambassadors that we have on brand, they cut across all kind of age demographics and city demographics.

Also Read:Storyboard18 | Experts discuss how can news genre be a reach for advertisers

What are the key marketing initiatives that really stood out in 2022?

We had a phenomenal year in terms of all the consumer campaigns that we’ve done. We kickstarter it with the Valentine Day’s campaign in which we are constantly on the side of the single people. So, we had these really cool cans (Swag se solo) that are the symbols of singlehood. And then I’m extremely grateful that we got an opportunity to create something that’s never happened in Indian advertising. We created a deep fake which had Salman from one of his movie characters called Prem actually mouthing dialogues from his film which was a first. 

This is a year which I’ll always remember as the year where we really doubled down on zero sugar, where we did a campaign which was all about building awareness about Pepsi Black. I think this whole year, of course, we had this huge thing that we’ve been communicating on Pepsi as well, which is all about the fact that now Pepsi has a lot of fizz. And we followed that up with an anthem called “Check My Fizz” with rapper Badshah and Jacqueline Fernandes. 

Also Read:Digital Marketing Mavericks: Publicis Groupe’s Digitas India looks at marketing from a fresh lens

Any interesting consumer trends that you’d like to share with us? 

Consumers are expecting a lot from marketers, and I feel that they’ve been exposed to content so much. They have access to TV series and movies from all kinds of countries in the world. I feel that their expectation of storytelling is heightened right now and also their ability to really see whether the brand is picking up an insight. Because I feel that those two things, which is essentially the power of storytelling into a human truth, is what the brand is really talking about. Somewhere, at least advertising that I’ve been seeing on TV, needs to really sort of be in that direction because that’s the consumer truth right now. 

What are the areas that you’re going to really focus on in 2023? 

Creator economy is definitely something that’s very intriguing and since 2019 Pepsi has always been tapping into that. We constantly leverage both mass celebrities as well as influencers to tell our message. But another thing that we’ve really done recently was the NFT launch, which was something that we are really proud of. We launched 22 NFTs, which were the first 3D animation NFTs in India.

While we have dabbled in the creative economy aspect, earlier this year, for the first time, we made inroads in the Web 3.0 and Metaverse space with these 22 NFTs which was India’s first 3D animation NFTs that we launched this year. While I feel that the space is very small and niche right now, but I think the next decade is going to explode when it comes to NFTs, and we’ve been building our muscles and really doing purposeful learning to understand that space and experiment with that

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Storyboard18 | Throwback: Thums Up – Defending against a global giant

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Indian economic liberalization policies of the 1990s ushered in many international companies wanting to explore the Indian market with their brands. There was more competition and fear that local brands may suffer. However, some brands were able to carve a niche for themselves. This is the story of one such iconic brand, Thums Up.

Thums Up and the need to change

The earlier campaigns: “Happy days are here again with Thums Up”, followed by “Food, Friends and Thums Up” & “The Refreshing Cola” had done their part. Thums Up was at the crossroads again. Things needed to change with Pepsi on the way.

The drink, Thums Up, is more carbonated, stronger, and less sweet than the rest – a masculine/manly taste. The call was to move Thums Up away from the teens having fun, to renowned action-driven men who would go to any extreme to sample the intense taste of Thums Up.

Evolution of “Taste the Thunder” campaign – The Eureka moment

Ashok Kurien of ad agency Ambience, who handled advertising for the brand, was stuck creatively. What campaign would help Thums Up stand up to the onslaught of the global juggernaut, Pepsi? Exasperated, he reached out to his friend, Bugs Bhargava Krishna, who was working in Contract Advertising and shuttling between Bangalore and Mumbai.

Ashok briefed Bugs on the issue. Bugs went back to Bangalore and drank many bottles of Thums Up. He liked the ‘Hit’ which Thums Up gave after every drink. In Bangalore Airport, while returning, he was having yet another Thums Up, and a strong burp hit him resembling a more thunderous bellow! Just then a Bangalore summer storm hit. The rumbling in the sky sparked the fact that drinking Thums Up was like tasting thunder. He wrote the line on a napkin and kept with it himself.

He met Ashok the next day and before presenting the line was building his case. The impatient Ashok said, “ F&^% the preamble, just tell me the line”. Bugs gave him the napkin. Ashok read it, kept quiet, and finally blurted out “you ba@$^#%, you have done it!

And then they got themselves drunk in celebration.

The story behind the “Taste the Thunder” campaign

The following evening they met again with Elsie Nanji (co-founder and creative director) and her husband Hossi Nanji, who composed the Thums Up jingle. They discussed many ideas for the television commercials and finally came up with 6 ideas for the launch of the campaign. It was lifestyle advertising, but not too much, more a way of life.

The stories revolved around situations where Thums Up was the winner. Which also tied to thunder, as a round of applause. The team at Parle (who owned brand Thums Up) was not convinced though. They questioned how a sound can be tasted. But Ramesh Chauhan of Parle decided to go ahead with the recommendation from Ambience.

Shantanu Sheorey, a popular photographer, had recently entered film production, and he filmed the commercials. A secret not known to many is that Ashok wrote the Hindi translation – Toofani Thanda.

Insights into Competition

Ambience knew that Pepsi would follow a certain formula and adapt what works internationally. So Ashok studied Pepsi’s tactics and decided to pre-empt them in India. Thums Up took the following actions:

a) Since Pepsi was the ‘The Choice of the New Generation”, they signed up Salman Khan for 10 years.

b) They did a taste test between Pepsi and Thums Up using Pooja Bhat, and she selected Thums Up.

c) Since Pepsi leveraged Top Gun for its advertising, Thums Up used the IAF fighter jets for a Top Gun-like television commercial.

Legacy of the Campaign

The Thums Up campaign was so successful that the brand not only survived Pepsi’s entry into the Indian market but continued to maintain its market leadership.

Many years later, Bugs was working with Saatchi & Saatchi and was in London. Bugs went to a pub and was introduced to an old gent and a young man. The older person was from McCann and was interviewing the young man.
Bugs offered to excuse himself, but he was told to stay. After the interview, the talk turned to India. The young man had visited Goa recently. Talking about India, the older gent mentioned the problem McCann had in India. “There’s this bloody homegrown brand of Cola, that is giving Coke hell in India. The brand just has too much traction. Has a line ‘taste the thunder’ and the drinkers won’t change for anything”

Bugs diffidently said he wrote the line. On hearing this, the older gent got up and shouted to everyone in the pub. This is the guy giving us all the trouble in India, all the drinks are on him (Bugs) today.

Thums Up is an example of a local brand that managed to stay relevant, and even thrive in the face of global competition.

Subodh Tagare is an Associate Professor at IMT Nagpur, where he teaches courses on marketing. Prior to IMT, Subodh was the marketing director at American Power Conversion/ Schneider Electric for South Asia.
S Vejay Anand consults with organizations on business strategy and marketing. He has also been an entrepreneur in the food and pet care spaces. Earlier he was President at Coffee Day and COO at USPL.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Coca-Cola, PepsiCo suspend soda sales in Russia

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Coca-Cola Co and PepsiCo Inc said on Tuesday they are suspending sales of their sodas in Russia, becoming the latest high-profile Western consumer brands to curtail operations in the region following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Coca-Cola said its business in Russia and Ukraine contributed about 1% to 2% of the company’s net operating revenue in 2021.

PepsiCo, whose colas were one of the few Western products allowed in the Soviet Union prior to its collapse, said it would continue to sell daily essentials, such as milk and other dairy offerings, baby formula and baby food, in Russia.

Earlier in the day, McDonald’s Corp said it would temporarily close all 847 of its restaurants in Russia.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Coca-Cola ropes in Shah Rukh Khan as brand ambassador for Thums Up

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Beverage major Coca-Cola has signed Bollywood heartthrob Shah Rukh Khan as the brand ambassador for Thums Up. Earlier, Khan was associated with rival cola brand, Pepsi, for a long period of time and this is his first big endorsement after the controversy involving his son Aryan Khan in a drug case last year.

The new commercial for Thums Up featuring Khan, will have an integrated campaign across TV, social, digital, shopper, and OOH platforms. ”Teaming up with King Khan, the brand amplifies this core value and adds action-packed cinematic storytelling with SRK portraying both reel and real-life hero in the ad-film,” said a joint statement.

Thums Up, which has become a billion-dollar brand in 2021, has partnerships with the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games and cricket. Commenting on the new campaign, Sumeli Chatterjee, Head – Integrated Marketing Experiences (IMX), Coca-Cola India & Southwest Asia said, Thums Up is a 45-year young brand that has always inspired millions to stay committed to their dreams.

”When we launched #PalatDe last year, the upside-down bottle of Thums Up became symbolic of the #PalatDe spirit – turning down every naysayer who cast a doubt on your ability. Building on this platform, we are thrilled to team up with Shah Rukh Khan to tell the story of the #ThumsUpStrong spirit,” Chatterjee said. Khan said, ”I am exhilarated to be representing India’s most iconic brand Thums Up, as it resonates perfectly with my perspective of never giving up, irrespective of the many challenges life may throw at us. It is this attitude that transforms each one of us into a hero in our own fields. This campaign is truly special for me, as it gave me the chance to perform some really cool stunts and action sequences which I thoroughly enjoyed.” In the new commercial, Khan in his imitable action-hero avatar performs breathtaking stunts on top of a train.

Thums Up was acquired by The Coca-Cola Company in 1993, when the Atlanta-headquartered company had re-entered the Indian market, from Ramesh Chauhan of Parle Bisleri.

.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Tata group replaces Vivo as IPL title sponsors for 2 years; BCCI set for windfall

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

One of India’s largest business conglomerates, the Tata Group, will replace Chinese mobile manufacturer Vivo as the Indian Premier League’s title sponsor for the next two years. As per reliable sources, the Tatas will be paying around Rs 670 crore for two years of title sponsorship while Vivo will pay a total of Rs 454 crore for termination of the contract which makes it a win-win situation for the BCCI as it is set to earn a whopping Rs 1124 crore for seasons 2022 and 2023 respectively.

“Yes, Tata group is coming in as IPL title sponsor,” IPL chairman Brijesh Patel confirmed the development to PTI. BCCI secretary Jay Shah welcomed the company in the new role.

“This is indeed a momentous occasion for the BCCI IPL as the Tata Group is the epitome of global Indian enterprise with an over 100-year-old legacy and operations in more than 100 countries across six continents,” Shah was quoted as saying in a media release. It is learned that Tata Group could remain title sponsors for the IPL’s 2023 season too as that was the one-year concession given to Vivo since it lost a season of sponsorship in 2020.

Vivo had a deal of Rs 2200 crore for title sponsorship rights initially from 2018-2022 but after the 2020 Galwan Valley military face-off between the Indian and Chinese Army soldiers, the brand took a break for a year in view of a public backlash and Dream11 replaced it in the IPL. However, Vivo was back as IPL title sponsor in 2021 even as speculation raged that the company was looking to transfer the rights to a suitable bidder and the BCCI approved the move.

It is learned from reliable sources in the BCCI that the Board would be earning Rs 547 crore in 2022 and Rs 577 crore in 2023. As per information available, Vivo had committed Rs 996 crore for the two years’ title sponsorship (2022 and 2023) with Rs 484 crore in 2022 and 512 crores in the next year.

The value shot up as the IPL expanded to a 10-team event featuring 74 matches this year instead of the 60 which were in place with eight teams. So how does the break-up of Rs 1124 crore windfall work for BCCI? The Tatas will be paying Rs 670 crores at the rate of Rs 335 crore per year. Of this, Rs 301 crore will be the Rights Fee and an additional Rs 34 crore would be the incremental fee (for the increase of 14 games). But since Vivo decided to terminate the contract, it will have to pay the difference in both years — Rs 183 crore for 2022 and Rs 211 crore for 2023. In addition to that, Vivo will also have to pay 6 percent assignment fee for both years which comes to Rs 29 crore in 2022 and Rs 31 crore in 2023.

So in all, Vivo will get out of the sponsorship deal by paying Rs 454 crore which is effectively a little over one year of sponsorship money originally committed by the company. For the Tatas, it’s a great deal considering that they are getting marquee sponsorship rights at a lesser cost for the next two years. The biggest winner is the BCCI, which stands to earn from both the new sponsor as well as the outgoing one.

“The BCCI like the TATA Group is keen to promote the spirit of cricket across international borders, and the growing popularity of the IPL as a global sporting franchise bears testimony to the BCCI’s efforts,” Shah said. “We are truly happy that India’s largest and most trusted business groups has believed in the IPL growth story and together with the Tata Group, we will look to take Indian cricket and the IPL forward to greater heights,” he further added.

The majority of IPL stakeholders are happy to see the back of Vivo as most of them weren’t comfortable with a Chinese company on board after the 2020 incident that heightened diplomatic tensions between the two countries. “This was supposed to happen sooner or later as Vivo’s presence was bringing bad publicity for both the league as well as the company. With negative sentiment around Chinese products, the company had to pull out of the sponsorship with one season left for the deal to be completed,” said a BCCI source.

The economics of sponsorship is that BCCI keeps 50 per cent of the money and distributes the rest among the IPL franchises which are now 10 with the addition of two new teams this year. It is understood that the fresh tenders for the next cycle will be invited in 2024.

“The Tata group wants to be title sponsors for five years but there needs to be a bidding process in place. But the BCCI is mulling on having a Right to Match option for the Tatas in case they are interested in the next cycle,” a source said.

-with additional inputs

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Pepsi catches NFT fever, releases ‘Pepsi Mic Drop’ collection

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Pepsi became the latest big brand to cash in on the non-fungible token (NFT) hype by releasing a collection of 1,893 NFTs, marking the year that the soft drink was created by Caleb Bradham. The company released its unique generative-style NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain on December 10 to users for free (excluding Ethereum gas fees).

The ‘Pepsi Mic Drop’ features unique and randomly generated (by an algorithm) NFTs that have the microphone visual and iconic Pepsi flavours, harkening back to Pepsi’s musical roots and connections. Users will be able to enter the waitlist for the NFTs starting on December 10 and can mint their allotted NFTs on December 14.

Also read: Tezos becomes first blockchain to launch a colour as part of artwork via NFTs

“Pepsi has always been a brand with a strong heritage in music and pop culture, so it’s only fitting for us to bring that legacy into the new world of NFTs with a ‘mic drop’ of epic proportions,” said Todd Kaplan, Vice President, Marketing, Pepsi.

“We created the Pepsi Mic Drop genesis NFT collection for our fans, putting their interests and needs at the forefront by ensuring the NFTs are all free of charge and presented equitably as an inclusive and accessible opportunity for anyone to experience the exciting world of NFTs. This collectible series of microphones is not only inspired by our history, but also represents the scale and scope of how accessible we see this space becoming in the future,” he added.

Also read: Metaverse: Non-existent yacht sells for $6,50,000 in most expensive NFT deal

The company also stated that it would be ensuring that a carbon offset programme is also implemented to make the launch of the NFT collection a net-zero emission event.

NFTs were recently awarded as being the most influential ‘entity’ in the world of contemporary art by ArtReview’s 20th Power 100 list. Several Indian celebrities like Salman Khan, Kamal Hassan and Amitabh Bachchan have also recently dipped their toes into the world of NFT collections.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

‘Cringeworthy’: Indra Nooyi on why she never asked for a raise

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Indra Nooyi, former CEO of PepsiCo, had never asked for a salary hike and even turned down a raise during the financial crisis.

“I’ve never, ever, ever asked for a raise,” Nooyi told the New York Times Magazine in an interview this week. “I find it cringeworthy. I cannot imagine working for somebody and saying my pay is not enough,” she added.

Nooyi was the chief executive officer at Pepsi from 2006 and 2018. According to Bloomberg, Nooyi did not rank close to the top executive compensation in the final year of her service. The same year, Bloomberg’s ranking of executive compensation named Oracle Corp’s Safra Catz as the highest-paid female CEO at number 33 on the list.

“I never asked my board for more money. Whatever they gave me is much more than I would have ever had. In fact, one year the board gave me a raise and I said, ‘I don’t want it.’ They said, ‘Why not?’ It was right after a financial crisis, and I said, ‘I don’t want the raise’,” she said in the interview.

Nooyi’s compensation in 2017, her last full year at the company’s helm, was a little more than $31 million.

Also read: Indra Nooyi attributes her success as PepsiCo CEO to this person

Talking about her lifestyle, Nooyi said she and her family lived in the same house for over 30 years and did not move into a bigger apartment even when she was a CEO.

“We grew up without much money and that philosophy has never left us,” she said.

Asked if her decision to turn down a raise was a gendered one, she said “I think it’s me, just me.”

According to Bloomberg, a body of research conducted between 2000 and 2009 showed that women did not negotiate their salaries as frequently as men, which may have contributed to the gender pay gap.

Also read: It’s time for companies, communities and governments to support working mothers: Indra Nooyi

Later, studies conducted by McKinsey and LeanIn showed that women were just as engaging in asking for raises and promotions as men. However, such women were often viewed as “intimidating” and “aggressive.”

A report by Harvard Business Review in 2018 showed men negotiated their hikes more successfully. The success rate of women was 15 percent, while that of men was 20 percent.

Nooyi, who recently published a memoir called My Life in Full, is currently a member of the Amazon board.

Also read: Indra Nooyi unplugged: From gender gap issues to handling work-life balance

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow