Pepsi CMO Todd Kaplan is leaving the company to pursue an outside opportunity after nearly two decades at parent company PepsiCo, the executive said via a post on LinkedIn. Ad Age first reported the news.
Kaplan was appointed to chief marketer in 2022 after more than three years as vice president of marketing for Pepsi. During his time at the cola brand, he helped lead a business turnaround, accelerate growth of Pepsi Zero Sugar, expand the marketer's water portfolio, pivot away from the Super Bowl Halftime Show and create new content and direct-to-consumer channels.
“I’ve had the opportunity to work with amazing teams, to create and launch new brands, to reimagine and build upon the legacy of some of our most iconic brands, to generate some of the biggest cultural moments, to push the boundaries of creativity and our industry forward, and to learn and laugh a ton along the way,” Kaplan said in the post.
Perhaps most notably, the executive in 2023 oversaw Pepsi's first visual overhaul in 14 years, executing a maximalist rebrand that fed into a celebration of the brand's 125th anniversary that was accompanied by a heavy marketing push.
“Todd is an incredibly creative and innovative marketer and his impact on our brands and our business has been consistently felt throughout his tenure. We’re looking forward to seeing the impact he will continue to make in his next chapter,” said a PepsiCo spokesperson in a statement shared with Marketing Dive.
Kaplan's time at Pepsi coincided with increased fragmentation in the marketing and media space, with Pepsi often working to meet consumers around culture in emerging channels. Most recently, he helped launch a flavored brand extension at Bubly and enlisted Bobby Flay to headline Pepsi's latest food-focused efforts.
“It’s the best of times for marketers because there are so many new and exciting platforms and ways to reach and engage with consumers,” Kaplan told Marketing Dive in 2022. “But it’s also really challenging to reach consumers through all those platforms because each has different formats, different needs, different content rules.”
While Kaplan did not share details of his plans, he included a rocket ship emoji in his post.
The executive's exit comes as competition in the beverage market ramps up, with both Pepsi and chief rival Coca-Cola marketing the launch of new products, including zero-sugar and better-for-you options. Amid a return of the so-called "cola wars," Pepsi has seen non-cola rival Dr Pepper tie it as the second most popular carbonated soft drink brand, according to sales-volume data from Beverage Digest cited by the Wall Street Journal.
