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PepsiCo to close bottling site in US. Some 112 workers are being laid off across manufacturing, maintenance and warehouse operations at the site in Knoxville. PepsiCo is shutting a bottling plant in the US state of Tennessee, impacting more than 100 jobs. According to a WARN filing, 112 workers are being laid off across manufacturing, maintenance and warehouse operations at the site in Knoxville. Staff were notified of the decision on Monday (19 October). In the filing, PepsiCo said it is working to reassign workers to "nearby facilities". Just Drinks asked PepsiCo to comment on the reasons for the closure. The company pointed this publication to a brief statement that said the move had been a "difficult decision". The closure comes as the US drinks giant faces margin pressure on margins at its North America beverages business. Marketing investment and muted underlying sales triggered a 15-basis-point drop in the unit's core operating margin during the third quarter, PepsiCo said earlier this month. In the 12 weeks to 5 September, divisional net revenue climbed 5%, boosted by prior-year acquisitions. However, organic revenue slipped "slightly", PepsiCo said. The company pointed to a sequential improvement in "organic volume trends". The Mountain Dew brand owner has cut its 2026 earnings projection, now expecting core earnings per share to grow 1% to 2%, down from its previous forecast of "low end" of the 4% to 6% range. Meanwhile, it emerged last week that rival Coca-Cola has won the drinks contract to supply drinks to US-based KFC restaurants, ending PepsiCo's 40-year tie-up with the chain.

PepsiCo: Corporates must shoulder innovation risk to help agtech startups scale. 20-Oct-2026 Last updated on 20-Oct-2026 at 02:42 GMT PepsiCo says corporates have a critical role in helping agtech startups move beyond pilot projects by reducing risk, validating solutions and proving commercial value before technologies are widely deployed on farms. * Corporates must absorb early-stage innovation risk for startups and growers, * Support will evolve as startups scale. * Commercial viability remains the ultimate test. Speaking at the Climate Innovation Summit Singapore on 14 October, Colin Matthews, APAC agronomy lead at PepsiCo, said corporates should use their resources to accelerate the rollout of these technologies and ensure that the risk is not passed on to growers. "We should be opening ourselves up and opening our ecosystem up to startups. We should be allowing them to do the development that's needed. We should be helping prove the concept," he said during a panel. The ultimate goal is to ensure technologies deliver real benefits to growers as it becomes increasingly difficult to produce enough food for a growing population. "Growers are facing many, many different challenges, whether it's from a business perspective or a climate perspective. Whichever way you look at it, it's getting harder and harder to grow the food that we as humans need on our planet," said Matthews. As larger organisations with greater resources and risk tolerance, corporates have a key role to play in validating technologies before they reach growers. "We are able to take that risk as a corporate. That's what we have to do. We have to make sure the proof points are there. We have to make sure the concept is able to be deployed and that it can be beneficial to the growers," said Matthews. While farmers may eventually adopt new technologies, he argued the responsibility for proving those technologies should largely sit with startups and their corporate partners. "Ultimately, it does come down to us standing behind it from a reputation perspective as well," he said. Support at different stages. Lisa Deng, chief financial officer, APAC Foods, PepsiCo, added that the role of corporates shifts as startups mature, reflecting changing risks, funding needs and commercial priorities. "I think that the role that multinationals or large corporates can play is actually being present through multiple stages of that development. I think about the risk management model that we talk about because the risk to a startup and the risk to the corporate are different at different stages," she said. Throughout these stages, she believes clear problem definition between corporates and startups is important. Elaborating, she said that during the proof-of-concept phase, risk is relatively low for corporates and the focus should be on clearly defining what the parties are trying to prove. As projects move into multi-site or multi-country pilots, the risks increase, requiring new success metrics and clearer commercial objectives. At later stages, questions around intellectual property, exclusivity and market advantage become increasingly important. Deng said all investment decisions ultimately come down to commercial viability and a proven business case. Matthews concluded: "I'm optimistic given the breadth and scale of the innovations. I think we will find solutions, genuine solutions, to the genuine problems our farmers are facing, whether that's simplifying complexity, increasing resilience, reducing costs or making farming more sustainable, both financially and environmentally."

MAHA Action backs Ken Paxton's Senate push With $1.3 Million. Oct 19, 2026, 20:10 ET A $1.3 million donation in Texas marks MAHA Action's closing-stretch commitments in a key midterm race WASHINGTON, Oct. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - MAHA Action today announced an additional final-stretch commitment in a key race where the Make America Healthy Again agenda is on the ballot: a $1.3 million donation to Lone Star Liberty PAC in support of Ken Paxton's campaign for U.S. Senate in Texas. MAHA Action Backs Ken Paxton for U.S. Senate With $1.3 Million MAHA Action has donated $1.3 million to Lone Star Liberty PAC in support of Ken Paxton's campaign for U.S. Senate in Texas. The commitment recognizes Paxton's record of turning the Make America Healthy Again agenda into important state action that improved the lives of Texan voters and Texan children. "Ken Paxton has done more to take on Big Food and Big Pharma than almost any state official in the country," Lyons said. "MAHA needs Paxton's fighting spirit in the Senate, and MAHA Action is doing its part to send him to Washington." As Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton issued Civil Investigative Demands to pesticide and food manufacturers, including Bayer and PepsiCo, over glyphosate residues in oat-based cereals and snacks marketed to children. Under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, his office opened a series of MAHA-aligned investigations: into feminine care and cosmetic brands over petroleum-based ingredients, microplastics and heavy metals; into Fruit of the Loom and Hanes over potential toxic chemicals in children's apparel; into Kellogg's, General Mills and Mars over synthetic food dyes and the marketing of ultra-processed foods as healthy; and into Colgate-Palmolive and Procter & Gamble over fluoride marketing and child-ingestion concerns. Following that scrutiny, Kellogg's entered a binding agreement to remove certain artificial dyes by 2027. The donation to Lone Star Liberty PAC reflects mounting grassroots momentum behind the Make America Healthy Again movement, led nationally by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and focused on rebuilding public trust in health institutions, ending the chronic disease epidemic, protecting children from environmental toxins, and restoring transparency and accountability across food, agriculture and health care. "MAHA Action has helped change the way Americans think about food, pesticides, drugs and healthy living in general," said Lyons. "We need to send more politicians to Washington who will fight for the improved health outcomes that Americans demand and deserve. Ken Paxton is our man in Texas. He'll be a fantastic senator." About MAHA Action MAHA Action is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit advocacy organization that mobilizes Americans behind the Make America Healthy Again agenda and supports leaders who will carry it into law.Media contact: [email protected] SOURCE MAHA Action