American snack and soft drink manufacturer PepsiCo has stopped making Pepsi, 7UP and Mountain Dew in Russia. The eventual cessation of production follows the company’s promise almost six months ago to cease sales and production in Russia due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Journalists from Reuters news agency had previously found cans and bottles of Pepsi imprinted with July and August production dates from factories in Russia in dozens of supermarkets, shops and gyms in Moscow and beyond. The most recent date on a Pepsi product was August 17. A gym owner in Moscow stated that he placed another order with Pepsi in mid-August.
In a statement to Reuters, the company said it had now stopped making concentrates for Pepsi Cola, Mirinda, 7Up and Mountain Dew in Russia. “All concentrates have been used up in Russia, and production has ended,” said a PepsiCo spokesperson.
The West has not sanctioned food and drink as part of sweeping measures to punish Russia for its actions in Ukraine. However, the continued availability of many Western products highlights the complexities of withdrawing from one of the world’s largest countries.
In 2021, Russia was Pepsi’s third-largest market after the United States and Mexico. Moscow stores also continued to sell stocks of foreign beers this summer, months after the brewers announced they would stop production.
Pepsi’s great rival Coca-Cola also continued to produce in Russia after the group announced in March that it would cease operations. Coca-Cola stated in June that its bottler, Coca-Cola HBC, a separate company, and existing customers in Russia are depleting inventories, after which production and sales of Coca-Cola and other soft drink brands in Russia would cease.
PepsiCo said in March it would continue to sell daily necessities, such as milk and other dairy products and baby food, in Russia. The company has been operating in Russia for more than sixty years. PepsiCo’s soft drinks were one of the few Western products allowed to be sold in Russia even before the collapse of the Soviet Union.