Nooyi eats, drinks Pepsi morning to night

New York, September 9: The economic recession may have led to many consumers cutting on their cola intake, but not its Indian-origin chief Indra Nooyi who takes the company's products in almost all her meals from breakfast to dinner.

Nooyi, named late last month the world's most powerful business women, mostly has a bowl of Quaker oatmeal with Tropicana juice for her breakfast, she said in a media interview.

Then for lunch, she has Lay's Kettle chips and Mirinda Orange. For dinner, Lays chips are again one of her favourites.

Besides, she always takes half a glass of Pepsi whenever her daughter is sipping it, Nooyi told the Wall Street Journal adding her 15-year old daughter drinks Pepsi every day.

When asked why beverages are being hit harder than snacks by the economic slowdown, Nooyi said that there used to be a lot of wastage earlier as "people unscrewed their bottle and did not finish it all. Now they are carrying the bottle longer and finishing the beverage."

Quoting a grocery store operator, Nooyi said that it used to have a number of construction workers asking for "Mountain Dew" in the morning. But due to slump in the housing market, those consumers are doing without the drink.

Nooyi said people need to be given a reason to come back to cola.