Why did Pepsi sue Coke in 2009?
Sophia Koch
Updated on February 19, 2026
LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK (Reuters) - PepsiCo Inc PEP. N, taking umbrage over a nationwide advertising campaign accusing its Gatorade energy drink of missing crucial electrolytes, sued Coca-Cola Co KO. N on Monday for false advertising and taking scientific liberties.
Why did Pepsi sue Coca-Cola?
In a major escalation of the cola wars, Pepsico Inc. sued the Coca-Cola Company yesterday, accusing its archrival of unfairly controlling the beverages served by restaurants and other businesses.Why is Pepsi being sued?
PepsiCo is being sued in three states by workers charging that they were shorted on wages following a cyberattack against a payroll service used by the company. The situation came about because of a ransomware attack on Kronos, one of the world's biggest third-party payroll and human-resources services.What is Coca-Cola accused of?
Since the 1990s Coca-Cola has been accused of unethical behavior in a number of areas, in- cluding product safety, anti-competitiveness, racial discrimination, channel stuffing, dis- tributor conflicts, intimidation of union workers, pollution, depletion of natural resources, and health concerns.Is Pepsi losing the cola wars?
In 1996, Pepsi had officially lost the Cola War.In October 1996, the cover of Fortune read, "How Coke Is Kicking Pepsi's Can." As Pepsi's profits trailed Coca Cola's by 47 percent, the magazine declared that the brand had officially lost the war.