PepsiCo chairman Roger Enrico had plenty to smile about this week, posting double digit growth in snacks and soft drinks during the fourth quarter. The results came in the same week that Coke boss Jack Stahl reported lacklustre sales in the crucial home market and a failure to communicate the message of "brand Coke". Enrico described Pepsi's performance as "unmatched by virtually any other consumer product company," adding that international snacks were one of PepsiCo's "key growth engines". "Our sharp focus on convenient food and beverages is paying off and we expect consistently healthy results to continue throughout 2001," he said, reporting a 15% rise in earnings to $567m, on sales up 7.7% to $6.12bn. Continued double digit growth during 2001 would be driven by new soft drinks such as Pepsi Lemon Twist and Code Red, new salty snacks such as Nacho Cheesier Doritos and Ruffles Rush Ultimate Cheddar and recent acquisitions Quaker and SoBe. Chief operating officer Steve Reinemund said: "2000 was Pepsi's best year in recent memory, and the strongest I've seen in my 16 years with the company." Coke has also promised great things for 2001 as its restructuring plan takes shape, but analysts were sceptical about its chances of achieving 6-7% volume growth given its dependence on cola in an industry where the biggest rewards are now in non-carbonates. Though outmanoeuvred by its rival in the bidding for SoBe and US sports drink Gatorade, Coke chief executive Douglas Daft said the company would take action to accelerate the growth of non-carbonated drinks brands in 2001. It intends to introduce 35 new local brands in Asia alone, and build on success with tea and coffee drinks in markets such as Japan. Meanwhile, aggressive marketing and more competitive pricing on carbonates would help drive sales in its two largest markets, the US and Germany, where Stahl admitted "brand Coke" had lost its edge. {{NEWS }}

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