Say you drink two 12 oz cans of Pepsi daily, that’s about 76 mg of caffeine, roughly a third of the usual daily caffeine limit for healthy adults. Knowing which drinks PepsiCo owns helps you pick options that fit your health needs, especially if you watch caffeine or sugar intake.
What Drinks Does Pepsi Own? The Full Brand List
PepsiCo owns or controls over 23 beverage brands worldwide, including 16 related to drinks. Its portfolio spans sodas, juices, waters, sports drinks, and sparkling water. PepsiCo’s soda lineup includes Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Sierra Mist, Crush, and Mug Root Beer, covering many familiar names.
PepsiCo’s ownership covers all major categories: carbonated soft drinks, juices like Tropicana, sports drinks such as Gatorade, and bottled waters including Aquafina. It also owns SodaStream, a leading sparkling water brand acquired in 2018, expanding its reach into home carbonation.
While PepsiCo owns Tropicana juice brand, it sold a majority stake in 2021 but retained distribution rights, so it still handles Tropicana in many places. For ready-to-drink coffee, PepsiCo co-owns the North American Coffee Partnership with Starbucks, manufacturing and distributing these drinks, but Starbucks as a brand remains independent.
PepsiCo owns the rights to 7 Up internationally, but in the United States, the brand is owned by Keurig Dr Pepper. This regional difference is common in beverage ownership, so which company owns or distributes a drink may vary by country.
The company’s soda names number over a dozen globally, fewer than Coca-Cola’s larger soda portfolio but covering key markets and tastes. PepsiCo uses stevia-based sweeteners in some reduced-sugar and zero-sugar options like Pepsi Zero Sugar to cater to health-conscious consumers and regulatory demands.
| Category | Brands |
|---|---|
| Carbonated Soft Drinks | Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Sierra Mist, Crush, Mug Root Beer |
| Juices and Juice Drinks | Tropicana, Naked Juice, LIFEWTR |
| Sports Drinks | Gatorade |
| Bottled Water | Aquafina, LIFEWTR |
| Sparkling Water | Bubly, SodaStream |
| Ready-to-Drink Coffee | Starbucks RTD (joint venture) |
PepsiCo’s beverage portfolio is broad and evolving. It includes legacy sodas, leading sports drinks, and growing categories like sparkling and enhanced waters. This diversity helps PepsiCo meet changing consumer preferences and health trends.
If you’re considering how many sodas Pepsi owns, the answer is around a dozen major soda brands globally, compared to Coca-Cola’s larger soda portfolio. For those watching ingredients, PepsiCo’s use of stevia in select products offers a lower-calorie alternative without sugar.
Knowing which drinks PepsiCo owns versus only distributes helps clarify what’s in your fridge and what to expect about ingredients and availability, especially if you have health needs related to caffeine, sugar, or additives.
For more on how the caffeine and sugar content varies across PepsiCo drinks, see the next section. To compare the number of soda brands PepsiCo and Coca-Cola own, check our related guide on the coca cola company.
How Caffeine and Sugar Vary Across PepsiCo Drinks
PepsiCo beverages differ widely in caffeine and sugar content, which can affect your health depending on how much and how often you drink them. A standard 12 oz can of Pepsi contains about 38 mg of caffeine and 41 grams of sugar, making it a modest caffeine source but a high-sugar drink.
| Drink | Serving Size | Caffeine (mg) | Sugar (g) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pepsi | 12 oz can | 38 | 41 |
| Mountain Dew | 12 oz can | 54 | 46 |
| Diet Pepsi | 12 oz can | 35 | 0 |
| Pepsi Zero Sugar | 12 oz can | 69 | 0 |
| Lipton Iced Tea (Sweetened) | 16.9 oz bottle | 0 | 34 |
Some PepsiCo drinks like Diet Pepsi and Pepsi Zero Sugar use artificial sweeteners or stevia, a plant-based sweetener, to provide sweetness without sugar or calories. Pepsi introduced Pepsi with Stevia to offer a lower-sugar option, but it typically contains a blend of sweeteners rather than stevia alone.
Stevia and other non-nutritive sweeteners don’t raise blood sugar levels, which helps people managing diabetes or watching calories. However, the caffeine in many PepsiCo sodas can affect heart rhythm in sensitive individuals and may cause digestive discomfort in large amounts.
Between sweetened iced tea and Pepsi, the sugar content is often similar, but iced tea may have less caffeine or none if unsweetened. For example, Lipton Sweetened Iced Tea holds about 34 grams of sugar per 16.9 oz bottle but no caffeine, while Pepsi has more caffeine and slightly more sugar per 12 oz.
Diet Cherry Pepsi is still available in many markets as a zero-sugar, zero-calorie alternative, using artificial sweeteners instead of sugar. It keeps caffeine similar to other diet colas, around 35 mg per 12 oz can.
Sugar in regular sodas can raise blood glucose quickly, which may be a concern if you have diabetes or insulin resistance. Caffeine acts as a stimulant that can raise heart rate and sometimes trigger acid reflux or digestive upset. Knowing the caffeine and sugar content helps you manage these effects.
Who Should Watch Caffeine and Sugar in PepsiCo Drinks?
Yes, some people need to limit caffeine and sugar in PepsiCo drinks. Pregnancy calls for keeping caffeine under 200 mg a day to avoid risks like miscarriage. Heart arrhythmias can worsen with caffeine, so staying below 100 mg or avoiding it may help. Kidney disease often requires limiting both caffeine and sugar to reduce strain and control blood pressure.
Diabetes means watching added sugars closely. Many PepsiCo sodas and juices have 20 to 40 grams of sugar per 12 oz can, which can spike blood sugar. Artificially sweetened drinks like Diet Pepsi or Pepsi Zero Sugar contain no sugar and can be safer for blood sugar control, but you should still check your overall diet.
If you’re fasting for blood work, Diet Pepsi is generally safe to drink because it has no calories or sugar. However, some labs advise only water to prevent any interference with results, so follow your clinic’s instructions.
Coughing worsened by Diet Pepsi is possible if you have throat irritation or acid reflux. The acidity and carbonation can irritate a sensitive throat. Switching to non-carbonated, non-acidic drinks like water or herbal tea can help soothe symptoms.
Drinks like Coke Zero or Pepsi Black do not directly cause weight gain since they contain no calories, but drinking them often might encourage cravings for sweet or high-calorie foods. Weight changes depend on your overall eating habits, not just these drinks.
Gallstones can cause digestive discomfort triggered by fizzy or sugary drinks. While Pepsi’s carbonation and sugar might worsen symptoms, small amounts occasionally are usually okay. Talk to your doctor if you notice pain after drinking soda.
Before any medical procedure or if you have a new diagnosis, check with your healthcare provider before changing your drink habits. Their advice may differ based on your medications, labs, or surgery prep.
What PepsiCo’s Portfolio Means for Choosing Lower-Sugar or Caffeine-Free Drinks
When deciding between sweetened iced tea and Pepsi, the sweetened iced tea often contains more sugar and fewer caffeine milligrams than Pepsi’s 38 mg per 8.4 oz can, which may make Pepsi a slightly better choice if you watch sugar closely but not caffeine. For reflux or hiatal hernia, diet lemonade can be gentler than diet Pepsi due to lower acidity and absence of caffeine, which can trigger symptoms.
PepsiCo does use stevia in some of its zero-calorie drinks, notably Pepsi Zero Sugar, which combines stevia and other sweeteners to reduce sugar while maintaining sweetness with no added calories.
PepsiCo’s portfolio offers several lower-sugar and caffeine-free options that fit diverse health needs. Bubly sparkling water is naturally free of sugar and caffeine, making it a safe choice for diabetes or reflux. Similarly, caffeine-free sodas like Sierra Mist and caffeine-free iced teas provide flavorful alternatives without caffeine’s stimulatory effects.
You can also customize drink sweetness and caffeine with SodaStream, which PepsiCo owns. This sparkling water maker lets you control how much syrup or flavor drops you add, helping reduce sugar and caffeine intake while enjoying bubbly drinks at home.
If you have reflux, diabetes, or heart rhythm concerns, sticking with caffeine-free, unsweetened or artificially sweetened beverages is generally safer. Avoiding high sugar and caffeine loads can reduce acid reflux triggers, blood sugar spikes, and heart rhythm disturbances.
