How Pepsico's Umi Patel uses data to grow Starry and Pepsi—and reach Gen Z

At a time when consumer attention and media consumption is more fragmented, data is more important than ever. Over the last year, Umi Patel, VP of consumer insights and analytics at PepsiCo Beverages North America, has been using that data to drive growth, launch new products and target new generations of consumers. “We know more about customers than ever,” said Patel. “But the beauty, and the trick, is to simplify all that data and make simple strategies around that.” Patel’s team was integral to creating and launching lemon-lime soda Starry, a direct answer to competitor Sprite. “That is a unique one because my team was part of that from the minute it was created,” the 17-year PepsiCo veteran said. “We had a heavy hand in not only constructing the product but ensuring it delivered. How do we message this? Where? What will it mean to Gen Z?” Starry hit more than half a billion dollars in sales during its first year and ran a Super Bowl spot earlier this year featuring rapper Ice Spice. Patel says the team’s Gen Z work is also fueling PepsiCo’s new products pipeline, and helping the CPG giant reach Hispanic consumers. Insight and analytics also played a role in supporting Pepsi’s logo redesign by running studies and focus groups to understand consumer responses and perceptions around the brand. Read about Ad Age’s 2024 Leading Women here What advice would you give your younger self? Share your unique perspective even if it differs from everyone else in the room—diverse perspectives are needed to make teams, work and cultures stronger. Don’t worry about what others will think, share your valuable thoughts. What’s the biggest risk you’ve ever taken? I’ve been fortunate enough to live and work in multiple countries. At the age of 18, I moved from the U.K. where I was born and grew up, to India, a little different as most people often do the opposite. While risky to give up all the things I was familiar with, this move shaped so much for me, deeper connection to my heritage/extended family, empathy for a world that is like no other and a lifetime of friendships. While moving to a new place comes with its own set of risks, this move, along with the ones that followed (Europe and North America), taught me how to adapt to different cultures, the value of listening to diverse perspectives and the importance of being open-minded. If you weren’t doing your current job, what would you be doing and why? I love working in marketing, understanding people’s behaviors, and leveraging data to develop growth strategies for categories and brands. If I wasn’t doing that, developing young talent and mentoring is something I have a ton of passion for. I would love to do more of that and maybe even run a charity/organization that supports the advancement of diverse women/youth. What should the industry do to encourage more women and people of color into its ranks? I think the industry needs to acknowledge and understand the unique challenges that women face, create safe places to listen and be open to creating joint solutions like flex work schedules, more affordable childcare and making it easier for smart women who may have taken time off to return into the workforce and create different paths for career progression. As far as people of color, we need strong advocates and allyship from broader leadership to elevate and support the advancement of people of color, especially women of color. It won’t just organically happen; it requires intention and action. How will AI impact your job in the future? Technology will continue to evolve rapidly, that’s a fact and I see this evolution bring many benefits such as quicker access to synthesized data, harmonization of processes and the opportunity to create deeper and more meaningful connections with consumers. The most important thing though will be remaining “human” in an era of AI, and not losing the need to create authentic human connections. Read about Ad Age’s 2024 Leading Women here

How Pepsico's Umi Patel uses data to grow Starry and Pepsi—and reach Gen Z

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