Steve Schmitt, PepsiCo CFO, explains important changes to the company’s products: “It’s not business as usual here”
The snack giant is set to make sweeping changes across the board, potentially killing off fan-favourite foods.
New Doritos and Cheetos is not quite a line from an MF DOOM song, but it’s close enough for me to include it.
In a bold move that could shake up (pun absolutely intended) part of America’s soft‑drink landscape, PepsiCo has announced dramatic changes to its U.S. product line.
The company, which owns fan-favourite snacks and drinks such as Lay’s, Cheetos, Doritos, Funyuns, Pepsi, and Mountain Dew, reportedly plans to eliminate nearly 20 per cent of its current snacks and beverages, slash prices on some remaining products and rework others. Here’s the lowdown:
According to an internal memo, Steve Schmitt, the PepsiCo CFO, delivered a blunt message to investors and analysts: things at the company are shifting. “It’s not business as usual here,” he admitted during a recent earnings call.
According to the company, the move is meant to simplify a brand portfolio the breadth of the Atlantic that’s lost momentum in recent years, especially as inflation and changing consumer habits weigh on demand.
JUST IN: PepsiCo $PEP strikes a deal with Elliott Investment Management to cut costs and lower food prices, according to WSJ, avoiding a proxy fight after Elliott took a $4 billion stake, one of the firm's largest equity positions ever.
— WOLF (@WOLF_Financial) December 8, 2025
The company will reduce expenses while… pic.twitter.com/BMPJ8XIczH
Which PepsiCo products will disappear and when will the change happen?
PepsiCo did not pinpoint exactly which products will disappear. The list likely includes some of its less popular or redundant products among its soda and snack lines. That said, the company is doubling down on a cleaner, leaner product mix, promoting items with simpler ingredient lists, higher nutritional value and fewer artificial additives.
New launches are expected to include versions of snack classics like Doritos and Cheetos recast under healthier banners such as “Protein” or “Simply NKD.”
And it’s not just the food that’s being discarded to the bin: so are a lot of workers, who are being thrown under the bus in order for the company to “right-size” its workforce.
La ilusión de la competencia.
— El Tío de la Soga (@ElTiodelaSoga) December 6, 2025
BlackRock accionista mayoritario de The Coca-Cola Company (KO) y PepsiCo (PEP)
Así funciona absolutamente todo, banca, empresa, política... pic.twitter.com/cLG1v2l8qF
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PepsiCo is also preparing to significantly reduce its workforce in the US and Canada as part of the restructuring under pressure from its activist investor Elliott Investment Management. Large offices including those in New York, Chicago, and Texas have been told to shift to remote‑work arrangements this week, a common move ahead of layoffs, and a signal that the cuts could start imminently.
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