PepsiCo is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its Supplier Diversity Program, where it currently spends more than $1 billion annually with certified, diverse suppliers, including Women, Black, Hispanic, Asian, LGBTQ+, Native American, Individuals with Disabilities, and US Veterans.
The anniversary commemorates a milestone for the company, from an initial spend of $5 million in 1982 to nearly $30 billion spent over the past 40 years across PepsiCo's entire value chain. The company is also committing to expanding its base and increasing overall spend through new forums, mentorship, partnerships and resources, including increased support around the supplier certification process to help businesses grow and sustain their economic impact for years to come.
Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) are staples in the American economy, generating more than $400 billion in economic output annually and resulting in the creation and/or preservation of 2.2 million jobs, according to the National Minority Supplier Diversity Council.
Building on the overall growth of its Supplier Diversity Program, in 2020, PepsiCo doubled-down on its support for Black and Hispanic suppliers as part of its Racial Equality Journey, a more than $570 million investment in a set of commitments over five years to increase representation within its workforce, leverage its scale and influence across suppliers and strategic partners, and help drive long-term change by addressing systemic barriers to economic opportunity and advancing economic empowerment for Black and Hispanic Americans.
As part of this journey, in 2021, PepsiCo spent nearly $500 million with Black and Hispanic suppliers, including adding more than 10 Black-owned and Hispanic-owned marketing agencies to its roster, which has resulted in leveraging an award-winning Black woman-owned agency for the rebrand strategy of the Pearl Milling Company and the development of the P.E.A.R.L. (Prosperity, Empowerment, Access, Representation, Leadership) Pledge which provides grants to non-profit organizations working to empower Black women and girls across the country; and an award-winning Hispanic women-owned agency to launch 'Juntos Crecemos', a multi-faceted platform to support small Hispanic-owned businesses. Additionally, through its diverse-owned media days, it has increased its spend with Black and Hispanic media companies by more than 50% of its 2020 spend.
PepsiCo has also hired Pink Patch Group, a Black-woman-owned certification consultancy, to help with the diverse supplier certification process and remove barriers to economic advancement. A recent MIT study revealed that the onerous certification process taxes the very companies that supplier diversity programs seek to help. In fact, only about 1% of diverse companies achieve certification despite meeting the required criteria. PepsiCo has since assisted several companies with the process, including Webber Marketing & Consultancy, LLC and Extrategic Culture, a culture-first social experience agency.
Through existing partnerships with organizations such as the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) and the National Black Growers Council (NBGC), PepsiCo has also advanced its efforts to create opportunities for these diverse businesses, deepen their relationships and identify potential new partners. The company has nearly doubled its spend among Black growers within the agriculture segment and continues to mentor growers on expanding their acreage and capacity available to purchase.
