Black Equity Guide: Which Snack & Beverage Brand Deserves a Spot at Your Holiday Table?

A Look at Coca-Cola, Keurig Dr. Pepper, and PepsiCo's Black Investments

Each installment of BDI’s Black Equity Guide will break down how different brands prioritized and transparently reported equity and support for Black communities across key factors from 2022-2024 — Black Representation, DEI Initiatives, Supplier Diversity, Community Investments, and Racial Discrimination. This series empowers you to shop with intention, putting your dollar toward companies that back their commitments with real action.

Whether you’re buying gifts or shopping for your holiday gathering, BDI’s Black Equity Guide is your guide to making a difference with every purchase. Let’s hold corporations accountable and support brands that advance Black equity, all while making your holiday season more meaningful.

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Today, we’re talking Big Fizz Energy, but before you read anything else, tell us…

In the ever-evolving landscape of the beverage industry, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Dr. Pepper have long stood as the trifecta of soft drink giants — each brand carving out a unique space in American culture.

Well recently, Dr. Pepper bumped Pepsi from the second-place position in market share, largely driven by experimental flavors and strategic marketing efforts targeting Gen Z.

In June 2024, CNN reported the following:

Coke is still the top soda in America. But the runner up spot, long held by Pepsi, now belongs to Dr Pepper.

After years of slowly gaining market share, Dr Pepper inched ahead of Pepsi as the number two soda brand in the country in 2023, according to market share data from Beverage Digest, a trade publication.

Coke is the leader by a comfortable margin. Last year, it captured 19.2% of the soda market in the United States by volume, Beverage Digest’s data shows. Dr Pepper and Pepsi both had 8.3%, with Dr Pepper technically ahead. After that came other brands owned by Coca-Cola: Sprite came in at 8.1% and Diet Coke at 7.8%.

Traditionally, Coca-Cola has reigned supreme in the soft drink market, with Pepsi consistently holding the second spot. Coca-Cola's branding has been synonymous with Americana, from its iconic Santa Claus advertisements, which helped shape the modern image of the character…

…to its "Have a Coke and a Smile" campaign.

And reaching into Coca-Cola’s brand portfolio, Sprite has a legacy of engaging with Black culture. From featuring Kurtis Blow in ads in the mid-1980s to the "Obey Your Thirst" campaign with Nas and LL Cool J in 1994, Sprite has leveraged hip-hop to connect authentically with the Black community. More recently, Sprite launched the Create Your Future inclusive voter education program to engage Black and multicultural voters.

Over the years, Pepsi has positioned itself as the choice of a new generation, often aligning with pop culture and youth movements.

(We won’t get into the post-George Floyd, “Kendall Jenner offering the police a Pepsi to end civil unrest and racism” commercial, but yes…that happened. #NeverForget)

Dr. Pepper, while always a significant player, has historically trailed behind its larger competitors. However, recent marketing efforts have propelled Dr. Pepper into the spotlight, capturing the attention and loyalty of Gen Z consumers. These efforts often leverage social media, resonating with younger audiences seeking authenticity and novelty.

drpepper

A post shared by @drpepper

In recent years there has been a considerable shift towards digital engagement, social consciousness, and purpose-driven choices. As digital natives who prioritize authenticity and social issues such as racial equity, the new wave of consumer’s purchasing decisions now often align with these values. So marketing allure aside: What do these brands stand for beyond their products?

Bear with me for a second, let me put y'all on game. - Kendrick Lamar

Each brand’s history is complex, so we will focus on the here and now, sharing what each brand is currently doing, specifically for Black America, across five critical areas: Representation, DEI, Supplier Diversity, Community Investments, as well as Racial Discrimination claims.

A High-Level Look

Representation

We looked at each parent company’s 2023 EEO-1 report, as well as their Executive Leadership and Board of Directors compositions — noting that the Black population in the US is an estimated 13.4%. We give kudos to all of the companies for transparently publishing their latest EEO-1 reports.

Worth noting: While PepsiCo’s Global CEO is not Black, Steven Williams (pictured below) is the Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo Foods North America.

Culture + Equity (DEI)

With many corporations in the U.S. facing DEI backlash, lawsuits from right-wing conservatives, and divesting as a result, here’s where our three companies stand:

• Dedicated C-Suite DEI Leader: PepsiCo was the only company who has a Chief Diversity Officer Listed in their Executive Leadership Ranks

• HBCU Pipeline Partnership:

  • Coca-Cola: “We expanded our partnerships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities as well as leadership development organizations, including the National Black MBA Association, Executive Leadership Council and Thurgood Marshall National Black Talent Bank.”

  • PepsiCo: "Taste of Tomorrow underscores PepsiCo's commitment to supporting HBCUs and advancing diverse talent within its pipeline to recruitment. As part of its efforts to amplify equity within its business, this initiative is one part of PepsiCo's work in ensuring marginalized and underserved communities are supported.”

  • Keurig Dr. Pepper: None Reported

• Black Employee Resource Groups (ERGs): Coca-Cola: Black Employee Network | PepsiCo: Mosaic | Keurig Dr. Pepper: African American & Allies

• Executive Compensation Tied to DEI Goals:

  • Coca-Cola: Yes

  • PepsiCo: In the 2000s, PepsiCo became the first major company to link executive bonuses to Diversity & Inclusion.

  • Keurig Dr. Pepper: Not Reported

• Skills-First Hiring (OneTen Coalition): None explicitly reported this hiring practice.

Supplier Diversity

This is a big one that we as consumers don’t talk about enough or know as much about. Supplier Diversity is how corporations include small and minority-owned businesses in their supply chains (i.e. hiring Black-owned businesses to provide products and services that keep the business running). Most companies don’t report much on Supplier Diversity, so having anything to report is a win.

• Coca-Cola:

  • In 2022, $200M went to Black suppliers out of the total $900M+ SD spend.

  • “In 2021, we committed to doubling our spend with minority-owned media companies—to 8% of our total annual media budget—by 2024. By working with legacy partners like ESSENCE, along with new minority-owned and minority-led media companies, we are on track to meet this commitment.”

• PepsiCo: In 2022, PepsiCo spent $1B+ with diverse suppliers. While they weren’t explicit about their Black supplier spend, they did report that they spent more than $435 million with Black- and Hispanic-owned suppliers and plan to more than double their spending efforts with Black-owned suppliers with an incremental spend of $350 million by 2025; expanding the supplier pipeline through advocacy and outreach; and building supplier capability, targeting growth across services, agriculture, sustainable packaging and operations.

• Keurig Dr. Pepper: $212M diverse supplier spend. No breakouts for Black suppliers.

Community Investments

Some corporations commit to really big, global issues, some focus on veterans, but we love coming across those that make a conscious effort to support BLACK initiatives. Not BIPOC, not underrepresented, BLACK.

• Coca-Cola: $3.2M+ to Black causes (See their full 2022 philanthropy list here)

  • $500,000 to the National Center for Civil and Human Rights to expand its civil rights education curriculum

  • 100 Black Men of America Inc: $200,000

  • 100 BLACK MEN OF ATLANTA INC: $100,000

  • Black Womens Agenda: $75,000

  • CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY INC: $350,000

  • HARVARD DEBATE INCORPORAT: $50,000

  • NATIONAL BLACK ARTS FESTIVAL INC: $75,000

  • National Coalition on Black Civic Participation: $200,000

  • ROBERT W WOODRUFF ARTS CENTER INC: $1,450,000 (Part of this grant will support the High Museum's David C. Driskell African American Art Acquisitions Endowment Fund.)

  • SPELMAN COLLEGE: $500,000

  • THE EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL INC: $150,000

  • THE MOREHOUSE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE INC: $520,000

  • THE URBAN LEAGUE OF GREATER ATLANTA INC: $50,000

  • THURGOOD MARSHALL COLLEGE FUND INC: $200,000

  • UNITED NEGRO COLLEGE FUND INC: $250,000

• PepsiCo: There are two initiatives worth noting…

  • Dig In: “Our multi-faceted Pepsi Dig In platform, including the PepsiCo Foundation’s Black Restaurant Accelerator (BRA), continues to strengthen Blackowned businesses with access to business-building resources, such as Black Restaurants Delivered, and innovative initiatives to drive visibility and sales. Through 2022, we invested $22.3 million USD in Blackowned restaurants. Additionally, BRA – the PepsiCo Foundation’s joint initiative with the National Urban League, achieved a milestone of providing grants to its first 100 of 500 Black restaurateurs in 11 cities across the U.S. In addition to achieving this milestone, BRA has supported 400 more Black-owned restaurants by providing business-building support, including counseling and training sessions, and helped provide access to approximately $1.6 million USD of financing and contract opportunities.”

  • Taste Of Tomorrow: “PepsiCo Foundation is providing $250,000 in scholarships to HBCU students pursuing STEM degrees across 9 HBCUs for the 2025 school year. Beginning September 9, 2024, through December 2, 2024, students at Benedict College, Bethune-Cookman University, Florida A&M University, Hampton University, Howard University, Jackson State University, Morgan State University, North Carolina Central University and Prairie View A&M University can apply here. Participating schools and application requirements can also be found at the link during the live application period.
    
    Additionally, PepsiCo is honoring and supporting Florida A&M University and Prairie View A&M University by providing $100,000 total for STEM resources to enhance their programs and foster innovation for long-term advancement of their programs and bringing an R&D educational workshop series to their campuses for further access.”

• Keurig Dr. Pepper: None Reported

Racial Discrimination Claims

And last but not least, racial discrimination. There are a lot of lawsuits that come up for any company on any given day, so we are going to focus on active lawsuits or claims on our radar that feel significant:

• Coca-Cola: Racial Justice Organization Color Of Change recently launched the following petition against Coca Cola:

Coca-Cola, a company that claims to value diversity, has been revealed as a sponsor of the Canada Strong and Free Regional Networking Conference 2024 later this month. The headliner of the event? None other than notorious neo-segregationist Chris Rufo. 

Rufo led efforts in Florida and across the country to ban Black history and books from our classrooms. Now, he's taking further steps to divide us by putting out a literal bounty for lies about Haitian immigrants. This violent rhetoric championed by Rufo has led to numerous bomb threats and destruction of property targeted towards the Haitian community in Springfield, Ohio. To put it bluntly, Rufo's words are leading to real-world violence.

It is appalling that Coca-Cola would choose to sponsor an event that promotes such hateful, discriminatory, and downright dangerous ideologies. This decision starkly contradicts the company’s public statements on diversity and inclusion, which it claims are "at the heart of our values and our growth strategy." 

We cannot let Coca-Cola's hypocrisy go unchecked. Join us in demanding that Coca-Cola withdraw its sponsorship for this dangerous event!

• PepsiCo: None Reported

• Keurig Dr. Pepper: None Reported

So, with all of this said…

Be informed, not influenced.

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The Black Dollar Initiative is a 501(c)(3) focused on the research and data that holds corporations accountable for their commitments to Black America. Your donation will go towards helping us research, analyze, and report over 120 corporations across 20+ data points. Donations are tax-deductible (EIN: 85-2383485).

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(Re)Sources:

• Brand/Product Portfolios: Coca-Cola | PepsiCo |Keurig Dr. Pepper

• 2023 EEO-1 Reports: Coca-Cola | Keurig Dr. Pepper | PepsiCo

• ESG/Diversity Reports: 2022 Coca-Cola | 2023 Keurig Dr. Pepper | 2022 PepsiCo

Please share any Black-owned snack and beverage brands we should check out and uplift!