RUSSIA: Nearly six months after the American corporation announced it would halt sales and production after Moscow moved tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine, PepsiCo Inc has discontinued producing Pepsi, 7UP, and Mountain Dew in Russia.
Following hundreds of grocery visits, store visits, and gym visits in Moscow and elsewhere, Reuters discovered Pepsi cans and bottles printed with manufacturing dates from Russian facilities in July and August. This discovery prompted Pepsi to make its disclosure.
When asked for an update on the sales and if they had been stopped, the spokesperson replied this was “in keeping with the announcement we made in March 2022,” but she declined to speak further.
“All concentrates were subsequently exhausted in Russia and production ended,” a PepsiCo spokesman said on September 8, the first public comments on the matter since the company announced in early March that it was suspending production, sales, promotional activities and advertising in the Russia.
A spokesman said this was “in line with the announcement we made in March 2022”, but declined to comment when asked for an update on the sales and whether they had been halted.
As part of broader measures meant to penalise Russia for its activities in Ukraine, the West has not imposed food and beverage sanctions.
However, the ongoing accessibility emphasizes how difficult it is to leave one of the biggest nations in the world. After the United States and Mexico, Russia was Pepsi’s third-largest market in 2021.
Earlier in the summer, months after the brewers announced they would discontinue production, stores in the capital were still selling off inventories of foreign beers.
Coca-Cola Co. an Atlanta-based competitor, continued to produce in Russia despite having said in March that it would stop doing so.
In March, PepsiCo announced that it will keep selling everyday necessities in Russia, including milk and other dairy products, baby formula, and infant food.
The business has been in operation in Russia for more than 60 years, and until the collapse of the Soviet Union, its colas were among the few Western items permitted in the country.
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