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PepsiCo Plans to Relaunch its Cola in Iraq
Aired January 07, 2004 - 06:18 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Time now, though, for a little 'Business Buzz.' A clear sign that times are a changing, one soft drink maker gets ready to do business in Iraq.
Carrie Lee has more on the story live from the Nasdaq market site.
Hello -- Carrie.
CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol.
Things are sort of coming a full circle here, really, for Pepsi. The company has reached a franchise agreement with one of its former Iraqi bottlers, Baghdad Soft Drinks, and Pepsi is going to relaunch its cola there.
Now PepsiCo was driven out of Iraq back in 1990 by United Nations economic sanctions. Now Pepsi is going to start shipping beverage concentrate, as well as glass bottles, to Iraq in the coming months, along with a major marketing campaign.
To a lot of Iraqis, though, Pepsi Cola never actually left. And that's because Baghdad Soft Drinks and street vendors have kept the brand alive in Iraq by selling homemade cola in leftover Pepsi bottles.
Interesting, also, to note here that the Middle East is one of the few regions where Pepsi has a big lead over Coca-Cola. Coke is also seeking new bottling partnerships in Iraq. Pepsi has a lead, and the edge is partly a result of the perception among many in the Middle East that Coke favors Israel. In Israel, Coke actually has two-thirds of the soft drink market. So times certainly are a changing in the Middle East when it comes to soft drinks -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Interesting. I'm just wondering what that homemade Pepsi tastes like in Iraq.
LEE: I haven't tried it myself. It will be interesting to do a taste test, though, wouldn't it?
COSTELLO: Yes, we'll ask Satinder Bindra to do that. I'm sure he'd love to do that for us.
LEE: There you go.
COSTELLO: Quick look at the futures. LEE: Yes, things looking a bit weak this morning, Carol. No economic reports to drive today's session. Of course yesterday the Nasdaq finished three for three, adding 10 points to a two-year high. The Nasdaq has gained ground for every trading session this year. The Dow down a little bit, the S&P pretty much flat.
One stock to watch today, Northrop Grumman. One of three defense names named by the Bush administration selected to design options for protecting U.S. commercial airlines from the threat of shoulder-filed -- fired missiles.
Back to you -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right. Carrie Lee reporting live from the Nasdaq market site.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired January 7, 2004 - 06:18 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Time now, though, for a little 'Business Buzz.' A clear sign that times are a changing, one soft drink maker gets ready to do business in Iraq.
Carrie Lee has more on the story live from the Nasdaq market site.
Hello -- Carrie.
CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol.
Things are sort of coming a full circle here, really, for Pepsi. The company has reached a franchise agreement with one of its former Iraqi bottlers, Baghdad Soft Drinks, and Pepsi is going to relaunch its cola there.
Now PepsiCo was driven out of Iraq back in 1990 by United Nations economic sanctions. Now Pepsi is going to start shipping beverage concentrate, as well as glass bottles, to Iraq in the coming months, along with a major marketing campaign.
To a lot of Iraqis, though, Pepsi Cola never actually left. And that's because Baghdad Soft Drinks and street vendors have kept the brand alive in Iraq by selling homemade cola in leftover Pepsi bottles.
Interesting, also, to note here that the Middle East is one of the few regions where Pepsi has a big lead over Coca-Cola. Coke is also seeking new bottling partnerships in Iraq. Pepsi has a lead, and the edge is partly a result of the perception among many in the Middle East that Coke favors Israel. In Israel, Coke actually has two-thirds of the soft drink market. So times certainly are a changing in the Middle East when it comes to soft drinks -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Interesting. I'm just wondering what that homemade Pepsi tastes like in Iraq.
LEE: I haven't tried it myself. It will be interesting to do a taste test, though, wouldn't it?
COSTELLO: Yes, we'll ask Satinder Bindra to do that. I'm sure he'd love to do that for us.
LEE: There you go.
COSTELLO: Quick look at the futures. LEE: Yes, things looking a bit weak this morning, Carol. No economic reports to drive today's session. Of course yesterday the Nasdaq finished three for three, adding 10 points to a two-year high. The Nasdaq has gained ground for every trading session this year. The Dow down a little bit, the S&P pretty much flat.
One stock to watch today, Northrop Grumman. One of three defense names named by the Bush administration selected to design options for protecting U.S. commercial airlines from the threat of shoulder-filed -- fired missiles.
Back to you -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right. Carrie Lee reporting live from the Nasdaq market site.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
