PepsiCo is massively expanded its presence in the energy drinks category with the $3.85 billion acquisition of Rockstar Energy Beverages.
Founded in 2001, Rockstar produces are wide variety of energy drinks marketed towards consumers with active lifestyles, from athletes to rock stars.
Although PepsiCo has had a distribution agreement with Rockstar in place in North America since 2009, it is now bringing into the fold. Rockstar joins the beverage giant’s growing energy drinks portfolio which also includes Mountain Dew’s Kickstart, GameFuel, and AMP.
“As we work to be more consumer-centric and capitalise on rising demand in the functional beverage space, this highly strategic acquisition will enable us to leverage PepsiCo’s capabilities to both accelerate Rockstar’s performance and unlock our ability to expand in the category with existing brands such as Mountain Dew,” said PepsiCo Chairman and CEO, Ramon Laguarta.
“Over time, we expect to capture our fair share of this fast-growing, highly profitable category and create meaningful new partnerships in the energy space.”
Russ Weiner, Rockstar’s founder, added: “We have had a strong partnership with PepsiCo for the last decade, and I’m happy to take that to the next level and join forces as one company.
“PepsiCo shares our competitive spirit and will invest in growing our brand even further. I’m proud of what we built and how we’ve changed the game in the energy space.”
