File under inevitable: After Coca-Cola announced it would start doing business in Burma after a 60-year break, here comes PepsiCo with its carbonated sights set squarely on “a market with great potential.” Production and sales of Pepsi-Cola, 7-Up, and Mirinda sodas will start soon after fifteen-year absence from the market; Lays chips and Quaker Oats, also brand properties, may follow. Following Coke’s lead, the soft-drinks company announced it would provide vocational training in the country, teaming up with UNESCO to “empower its people and strengthen the workforce as PepsiCo looks to expand its business in the future.” And FYI: A can of Coke “costs at least 1,000 kyat (US $1.15) — a full day’s wages for many Burmese,” the Irrawaddy reported in June. “This compares with prices as low as 100 kyat per bottle for local brands such as Happy Star and Sweety.” [BBC, Earlier]
