[VIDEO] Pepsi Cola’s Navy

View Full

hard to Believe History Playlist

View Full

hard to Believe History Playlist

Pepsi Cola’s Navy

Transcript:
In 1989, Pepsi found itself at the center of one of the most astonishing business deals in history. The Soviet Union, unable to pay for its favorite soda due to a currency crisis, offered an unconventional trade: 17 submarines, a cruiser, a frigate, and a destroyer, all in exchange for $3 billion worth of Pepsi.

For a brief moment, PepsiCo became the owner of one of the world’s most formidable fleets, surpassing the naval power of all but the top five military nations.

Although Pepsi quickly sold the ships to a Swedish company for scrap, the deal remains a surreal example of how the Cola Wars could have escalated from marketing to military might—Pepsi could have literally gone to war with Coca-Cola!