PepsiCo says price cuts are paying off

CEO Ramon Laguarta noted layoffs and productivity improvements have allowed the company to reduce costs and invest in affordability.

What happened

PepsiCo is benefiting from recent decisions to cut prices and reposition some of its biggest snack brands, top executives said last week.

The Doritos and Aquafina manufacturer said the company has focused on reducing costs, leading to what “has been a very successful strategy for us,” Ramon Laguarta, PepsiCo’s CEO, told analysts. During the last year, the New York-based company has shuttered facilities in at least three states and reduced the number of products it sells by nearly 20%.

Why it matters

The moves have allowed PepsiCo to divert savings into lower prices for consumers. In February, PepsiCo announced it would lower prices for brands including Doritos and Cheetos by up to 15% in a bid to reignite growth.

“The current macroeconomic environment has become more volatile and uncertain, and we will focus on controlling what we can, which includes innovation, execution, brand building, productivity and disciplined capital allocation,” Laguarta said in prepared remarks, discussing the company’s first-quarter results.

Affordability concerns have weighed on PepsiCo, with executives saying price increases passed on to consumers were discouraging them from purchasing its products.

This news brief is based on reporting published by Food Dive on 2026-04-20. The original report is linked below.