Pepsi Refresh Project

The Pepsi Refresh Project (PRP) was a 2010 initiative by PepsiCo to award $20 million in grants to individuals, businesses and non-profits that promote a new idea that has a positive impact on their community, state, or the nation. The project is completely separate from the Pepsi Corporate Foundation and uses money budgeted for marketing. More than 80 million votes were registered and, at its peak, 37% of Americans were aware of the Refresh Project. This project has been the focus of a 2013 Harvard Business School case ("The Pepsi Refresh Project: a Thirst for Change"), describing the process that Pepsi's marketing team, led by senior marketing director Ana Maria Irazabal, went through to come up with this idea. In early 2012, Pepsi abandoned the Refresh Project. One opinion is due to declining market share and falling to third place behind Coke and Diet Coke.