• Wall Street Journal, Wednesday, July 1, 2009 10:35 AM

PepsiCo chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi has taken a 10-day "immersion" tour of China as part of her mission to improve the company's presence in emerging markets. What she saw, Gordon Fairclough and Valerie Bauerlein report, convinced her that Pepsi's current efforts, while good enough, have to expand to a "vastly different" model.

China is PepsiCo's second-largest beverage market after the U.S. and one of its fastest-growing snack food markets. But figuring out how to effectively reach its diverging generations is a central challenge, Fairclough and Bauerlein write. Older people grew up without packaged goods and prefer local markets and eating in; young consumers crave supermarkets, Western brands and fast food.

Nooyi wants her team to think "differently and disruptively" and is challenging them to develop product ideas that cater to China's large older population. She is also looking for more research into women who often juggle work and motherhood but also make the day-to-day consumption decisions for households. (Is that any different anywhere?)

Read the whole story at Wall Street Journal »