PepsiCo is becoming the latest American consumer-facing brand to make a splash in F1, with a new arrangement that involves several brands and pouring and snack-distribution rights to most grand prix events around the world. The agreement between Formula 1 Management and the beverage giant was announced during overnight hours in the U.S. this morning, and it will result in Gatorade, Doritos and Sting Energy drinks all becoming sponsors in F1 with plans for everything from digital content to on-package retail promotions.
Financial terms were unclear, but the deal goes through 2030 and assets involved suggest that PepsiCo will be spending well into the eight figures annually. The beverage company, which is based in N.Y., will also get some direct opportunities to earn revenue from the deal through rights to sell its drinks and salty snacks at most of F1’s 24 annual grand prix events, with that element to start in a phased manner this year before being fully rolled out in ’26.
The deal represents the latest significant commercial win for F1 with a major U.S.-based consumer-facing brand. PepsiCo VP/Global Sports & Entertainment Partnerships Adam Warner told SBJ that on top of the pouring and snack distribution rights, the pact involves marketing rights, TV-visible trackside signage, midway activations at 21 races, and hospitality and ticket options for PepsiCo to entertain its employees and clients with.
Sting is the lead brand of the deal and will roll out digital marketing and retail promotions in the coming months, with a focus around the sound of F1 cars and attempting to draw a parallel between that noise and the way it sounds when you pronounce the word “Sting.” Sting has become a popular energy drink in Asian countries like India, Pakistan, Egypt and Vietnam, though it’s only available in 30 markets and the U.S. is not a major focus or it.
One brand that will be focused on the U.S. audience is Gatorade, which will become presenting sponsor of F1’s sprint races and a partner of the all-women F1 Academy junior formula. Assets include official naming rights, interview backdrops, LED signage, social media programming and broadcast graphics during F1’s sprint races, starting later this year. Doritos becomes a global snack partner with ensuing activation rights. As a holding company, this is PepsiCo’s first deal in F1, though one of the brands it distributes internationally, Keurig Dr Pepper’s 7 Up, used to be in F1.
Warner said the motivation for this deal was more based around the opportunity to tap into a sport deemed to be quickly growing, as opposed to trying to make a defensive play versus Red Bull and Monster Energy by getting Sting into F1.
PepsiCo negotiated the deal in house but will work with is various agencies on activation. Warner added, “Connecting three of our powerhouse brands in Sting, Gatorade and Doritos with one of the world’s fastest-growing sports, if not the fastest growing sport — this is a big deal for us. We see F1 as a very strategic platform. It’s fast growing, it’s catching the potential engagement of younger audiences, male and female, it’s got a very “glocal” profile; it’s very global but you’ve got 24 races to follow around the world. When you combined those sort of things together, we’ve got a very strong strategic conviction that this can be a big growth driver for our business and our brands.”
PepsiCo owns some 70 brands. Its rival, Coca-Cola, was formerly in F1 with McLaren Racing, but McLaren no longer lists Coke on the partner section of its website. Warner added, “This platform has rapidly grown in the past four or five years to become much more than a motorsport. It’s transcended that, it’s become an entertainment platform, it’s become very global, and it’s attracting a very strategic audience and cohort for us. It’s younger, there’s a real balance between male and female, so it’s the profile of the platform whether than any sort of competitive move which is the principal driving force behind this investment.”
Vandita Pandey, PepsiCo’s VP/Marketing for International Beverages, Hydration & Energy, was also integral in negotiating the deal.
This story will be updated.
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