V-POL Domain Audit: PepsiCo

Corporate Communications & Public Stance

PepsiCo issued a public statement on October 27, 2023 supporting associates in Israel and Gaza following the October 7 attacks, pledging $1 million to humanitarian relief, matching employee donations 2:1, and providing housing, food, childcare, and mental health support to displaced employees ¹. The company continued operations in the region following this statement ¹. No additional public statements specifically addressing the ongoing Gaza conflict have been identified through April 2026, and the company has not issued follow-up statements on the conflict’s evolution despite ongoing hostilities ¹. In March 2022, PepsiCo publicly suspended “the sale of Pepsi-Cola, and our global beverage brands in Russia, including 7Up and Mirinda, capital investments and all advertising and promotional activities” in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, demonstrating a contrast with its approach to the Israel/Gaza situation ². No equivalent operational suspension occurred for Israel/Gaza operations in October 2023 ². In SEC 10-K filings, Israel is treated as a standard commercial market within the AMENA (Africa, Middle East, and North Africa) operating division, and no geopolitical characterization of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict appears in risk factor disclosures ³. SodaStream was previously marketed with a prominent “Made in Israel” identity, but post-acquisition marketing has shifted toward sustainability and environmental messaging ⁴.

Operations in Occupied or Contested Territories

SodaStream operated a manufacturing facility at Mishor Adumim industrial park in the Ma’ale Adumim settlement bloc (Area C, West Bank) until October 2015, which was a primary target of BDS campaigns citing international humanitarian law concerns ⁵. SodaStream relocated manufacturing from Mishor Adumim to Idan HaNegev industrial park near Rahat (inside Israel’s pre-1967 borders) in October 2015, three years before PepsiCo’s acquisition, and Who Profits conducted field verification in December 2015 confirming complete withdrawal ⁶. PepsiCo completed the acquisition of SodaStream on December 5, 2018, approximately three years after the West Bank factory relocation ⁷. The Idan HaNegev facility currently employs approximately 1,400-2,000 workers, with one-third Bedouin Arab employees and over 100 Palestinians holding Israeli work permits ⁸. In December 2018, then-CEO Daniel Birnbaum announced plans to establish a factory in Gaza “as a co-backer” via subcontractor, but multiple sources confirm this announcement while no evidence of implementation exists — no operational plant was ever built ⁹. PepsiCo operates a beverage bottling franchise through Modern Group in Jericho, West Bank, owned by Yazji Group since 1996, with production starting in 2018 and supplying Pepsi, 7UP, and Mirinda to West Bank markets ¹⁰. The Modern Group facility has approximately 60 million liters annual capacity pre-October 2023, with production down 35% due to supply chain issues as of March 2024 ¹¹. The UN Human Rights Office database (A/HRC/60/19, September 2025) lists 158 companies involved in settlement activities, but PepsiCo and SodaStream do not appear in this database ¹².

Internal Governance, Content & Retail Policies

PepsiCo maintains a published Human Rights Policy committing to internationally recognized human rights standards, including freedom of association and collective bargaining, but the policy does not contain specific language addressing employee political speech on geopolitical conflicts nor does it reference the Israeli-Palestinian conflict ¹³. The Supplier Code of Conduct requires suppliers to comply with applicable laws and meet baseline labor and environmental standards but contains no specific language regarding product origin labeling from settlements or occupied territories ¹⁴. No public evidence identified of HR enforcement actions, disciplinary proceedings, or legal actions specifically concerning employee speech, political symbols, or union activity related to the Israel-Palestine conflict ³. Content moderation is not applicable to PepsiCo’s core business operations as the company is not a media or platform company ³.

Brand Heritage & State Partnerships

PepsiCo’s commercial identity is centered on civilian consumer goods including carbonated beverages, juices, and snack foods, with no military heritage, defense sector origins, or state-security identity incorporated into corporate branding ³. SodaStream was informally cited in Israeli government economic development materials as a model of Israeli industrial success and Arab-Jewish coexistence employment, but no formal government-to-corporate sponsorship arrangements have been confirmed ⁶. No confirmed evidence that PepsiCo as a corporation has accepted Israeli state honors or participated in “Brand Israel” campaigns has been identified ⁶.

Lobbying, Advocacy, Financing & Logistics

PepsiCo maintains active registered lobbying in Washington D.C. with disclosed issues including food/beverage labeling, sugar taxes, agricultural trade policy, and nutrition standards, but no evidence has been identified of specific lobbying on anti-BDS legislation, the Israel Anti-Boycott Act, or Middle East trade policy ¹⁵. PepsiCo’s corporate PAC makes bipartisan contributions directed primarily at members of agricultural, tax, and trade-related congressional committees, but no earmarked contributions to pro-Israel legislative caucuses or Israel-related political committees have been identified ¹⁵. No confirmed evidence of corporate donations to Israeli parastatal organizations, settlement infrastructure bodies, or Israeli military-welfare funds (FIDF, JNF) has been identified in available corporate disclosures ¹⁵. PepsiCo acquired Strauss Group’s 50% stake in Sabra Dipping Company (hummus manufacturer in Virginia) for $244 million in November 2024, and Strauss Group had previously faced BDS campaigns due to its historical support for IDF Golani and Givati brigades ¹⁶.

Corporate Structure & Primary Mission

PepsiCo, Inc. is incorporated in North Carolina, formed through the 1965 merger of Pepsi-Cola Company and Frito-Lay, Inc., with its corporate charter defining its purpose as a general commercial corporation for the manufacture, sale, and distribution of food and beverage products — no language ties the mission to any national or geopolitical objective ⁴. The company is publicly traded on NASDAQ (ticker: PEP) with broadly distributed institutional and retail shareholding, and no golden shares, state-held equity stakes, or sovereign wealth fund controlling interests have been identified ³. SodaStream International operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary headquartered in Airport City, Israel, manufacturing carbonation devices and CO₂ cylinders at the Idan HaNegev facility ⁸⁷.

Executive & Leadership Footprint

Ramon Laguarta has served as Chairman and CEO since October 2018, and at the 2018 acquisition press conference he announced a 15-year commitment to keep SodaStream in Israel ¹⁷. No confirmed personal donations, family foundation grants, or fundraising activity directed toward Israeli advocacy organizations, military-welfare funds, or Palestinian relief organizations has been identified in available records for Laguarta ¹⁷. No confirmed public statements, op-eds, social media posts, or open letters by Laguarta or other C-suite executives regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict have been identified, and this silence is consistent with the company’s broader institutional posture ¹. No current board member has been identified as holding personal leadership roles, board seats, or advisory positions in Israeli government-aligned advocacy organizations (AIPAC, FIDF, JNF) or comparable geopolitical pressure groups based on targeted searches of PepsiCo proxy statements and public biographies ¹⁸.

End Notes