At Cold War-era expo, one enterprising capitalist shared Pepsi with Premier Khrushchev and three million visitors; A half-century later, Donald Kendall is returning to celebrate
MOSCOW, July 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- When Presidents Medvedev and Obama meet in Moscow next week, their summit will coincide with another historic milestone in U.S.-Russia relations: the 50th anniversary of the American National Exhibition in Moscow.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090701/NY40858 )
Opened in July 1959, the exhibition provided an extraordinary six-week interlude in the Cold War. Nearly three million visitors had a rare chance to see a remarkable display of American culture, science, technology and consumer goods -- and, thanks to one enterprising capitalist, to sample an iconic American brand, Pepsi-Cola.
For Donald M. Kendall, then the 38-year-old head of Pepsi-Cola International and today a former PepsiCo chairman and CEO, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sample his product in the Soviet Union, which did not allow the sale of American consumer brands. It was the first step in a 15-year effort by Kendall to establish Pepsi as the first Western consumer product made and sold in the Soviet Union. It also was the start of a lifelong engagement with Russia.
"I came prepared, with Russian-speaking college students and a full complement of cola syrup and carbonating machines," Kendall said. "It was a major undertaking."
While many remember the exhibition for the spirited "Kitchen Debate" between Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon, Kendall, now 88, was focused on raising the profile of his brand. So focused, in fact, that he encouraged his friend Nixon to bring Khrushchev to his Pepsi kiosk as the Soviet leader toured the exhibit.
"When Vice President Nixon brought Premier Khrushchev to our booth, I wanted to show the Russian leader that Pepsi can be made just as well in Moscow as it is in the United States, so I offered him a cupful of each and he accepted," Kendall said. "After sampling both, he advised the nearby dignitaries and reporters: 'Drink the Pepsi-Cola made in Moscow. It's much better than the Pepsi made in the U.S.'"
In all, the Soviet leader drank more than six cups and handed out others to people standing nearby. He told Kendall it was "very refreshing."
The next day foreign newspapers carried a picture of the cola-quaffing leader with a caption inspired by the Pepsi advertising at the time: "Khrushchev learns to be sociable." The company's popular advertising theme back then was "Be sociable, have a Pepsi."
While some three million cups of Pepsi were consumed during the six-week exhibition, it would be 15 more years before the first Pepsi was actually sold in the USSR, under a landmark syrup-for-vodka barter agreement engineered by Kendall and approved by Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin. The agreement established Pepsi-Cola the first Western consumer product made and sold in the USSR.
"It took a lot of work, but it was well worth the wait," said Kendall. "Today Russia represents a big business for PepsiCo and one of our most exciting growth opportunities."
For 50 years Kendall has been a staunch advocate of U.S.-Russia trade, and in 2004 then-President Vladimir Putin presented him with the Order of Friendship medal, the highest honor given by the Russian Federation to foreign civilians.
Kendall plans to travel to Moscow to mark the 50th anniversary at a reception to be hosted by U.S. Ambassador John Beyrle on July 9. PepsiCo is sponsor of an exhibition of photographs from the American Exhibition which will be displayed at the Embassy. A sampling of those photos may be viewed starting July 9 at PepsiCo's corporate website, www.pepsico.com.
Today PepsiCo and its bottling partner The Pepsi Bottling Group (PBG) comprise one of the largest food and beverage providers in Russia, and are the country's leading producers of branded juices and nectars, ready-to-drink teas, bottled water, and savory snacks. In addition to popular carbonated soft drinks Pepsi, Mountain Dew and 7UP, PepsiCo and PBG offer a broad portfolio of locally relevant brands that Russians know and love, including Ya, Tonus, Fruktovy sad and Frustyle juices and nectars from Lebedyansky, and a variety of Frito-Lay snacks, such as Lay's Potato Chips made with potatoes from local farmers, and Hrusteam crispbreads.
ADDITIONAL MATERIALS AVAILABLE
Photos from the 1959 exhibition, as well as other press materials, are available at www.pepsico.com/russia.
Broadcast-quality video b-roll, including historic material from 1959 and excerpts from a recent interview with Donald Kendall, is available to media for free download at http://www.thenewsmarket.com/pepsico. For free registration, log on to: http://www.thenewsmarket.com.
About PepsiCo
PepsiCo is one of the world's largest food and beverage companies, with 2008 annual revenues of more than $43 billion. The company employs approximately 198,000 people worldwide, and its products are sold in approximately 200 countries. Its principal businesses include: Frito-Lay snacks, Pepsi-Cola beverages, Gatorade sports drinks, Tropicana juices and Quaker foods. The PepsiCo portfolio includes 18 brands that generate $1 billion or more each in annual retail sales. PepsiCo's commitment to sustainable growth, defined as Performance with Purpose, is focused on generating healthy financial returns while giving back to communities the company serves. This includes meeting consumer needs for a spectrum of convenient foods and beverages, reducing the company's impact on the environment through water, energy and packaging initiatives, and supporting its employees through a diverse and inclusive culture that recruits and retains world-class talent. PepsiCo is listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index and the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.
Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090701/NY40858SOURCE: PepsiCo
Web site: http://www.pepsico.com/