Pepsi + Messi
Turned the Champions League sponsorship into market-ready activation packages across brands and markets.
Santiago Zuluaga Hoyos
Marketing Director · FMCG brand growth
I make strategies happen.
My title has always said marketing. What I have done for 14 years is answer one question: how to grow brands in competitive markets.
Ten years at PepsiCo on Pepsi, Lay's, Doritos and Cheetos, in local, regional and global roles. I turn business vision into playbooks and move teams, whether they report to me or not, until the results show in the market.
Results
Every claim here has a number.
Click any number to see how it happened.
+24pts
Segment share for Cheetos Popcorn within two months of launch.
The launch +8ptsMarket share for Doritos Roulette in Chile, a concept built on consumer research.
The concept +37%Sell-in with Súper Precios in Uruguay, plus 11% sell-out and the BAM award.
The insight 33.9MViews for Nutmeg Royale, Pepsi's 2022 World Cup campaign, #1 in global engagement.
The campaign 45Markets in the Pepsi Zero Sugar growth agenda, contributing to 11.9% global volume growth in 2024.
The agenda 87%Reusable cup return at the UEFA Champions League Final pilot, seven points above target.
The playbookThe work
Press play on campaigns I helped build.
Trailer preview · muted
Nutmeg Royale
My first assignment in Pepsi's global team: the World Cup campaign, delivered in more than 45 countries with Messi, Ronaldinho, Pogba and Vinícius Jr.
#1global engagement
33.9Mviews
4.3%engagement rate
Coverage: LBB · Adlatina · DossierNet · Esquire Middle East · Official film on Pepsi's YouTube
Pepsi + Vini Jr.
Always-on Champions League toolkit, redesigned to give markets local flexibility, and adopted by more than 20 markets.
Cheetos Crispetas
Launched Cheetos Popcorn with R&D, sales and operations: +24 points of segment share within two months.
Made with dedication
New sea salt recipe, redesigned pack and communication for Lay's Kettle, later rolled out to Peru and Chile.
Sensations
Took Lay's into the premium segment for the first time, landing at a 110 index versus plan.
Football, better together
Regional promotion delivered with trade marketing: growth between 8% and 50% depending on market.
Behind the scenes
On set, in store, at the final.
Selected cases
How the numbers happened.
Scope, what I did and the result, in the words of my profile.
Pepsi Zero Sugar · Global · 2023–2025
A growth agenda for 45 markets, led without direct authority.
- Scope
- Global zero sugar strategy across 45 markets, working with four matrixed regional marketing leads.
- What I did
- Shaped the global category and brand growth agenda. Defined portfolio and price-pack architecture strategy in key markets including the UK, Nigeria and Brazil. Tracked volume, profitability and share through post-campaign ROI analysis.
- Result
- Contributed to 11.9% global volume growth in 2024.
11.9%
Global volume growth for Pepsi Zero Sugar in 2024, to which the agenda contributed.
Pepsi · 2022 World Cup
#1 in global engagement with Nutmeg Royale.
- Scope
- Global football platform for Pepsi across 45 markets, with two matrixed regional marketing leads.
- What I did
- Delivered the World Cup campaign in more than 45 countries with Messi, Ronaldinho, Pogba and Vinícius Jr. Built the long-term football platform, grounded in consumer research. Managed creative and production agencies and approved local adaptations to protect brand consistency.
- Result
- 33.9 million views, a 4.3% engagement rate at 2.3 points above the industry benchmark, and the highest share of voice in media and PR at 20%.
Pepsi · UEFA Champions League Final
A sustainability playbook that markets actually adopted.
- Scope
- Pepsi's global sustainability playbook, launched to more than 400 attendees.
- What I did
- Piloted it at the UEFA Champions League Final at Wembley, with reverse vending machines, visible recycling points and a reward system, aligning multiple functions, partners and stakeholders.
- Result
- 87% reusable cup return rate, seven points above target, and adopted in more than five markets within a year.
- Coverage
- PepsiCo press release, May 2024 · Machine case study: 5,170 cups and cans recycled over four live days.
Lay's · Uruguay · Go-to-market
When price, not preference, is the real barrier.
- Scope
- Potato chips category across Latin America, with Lay's, Ruffles and Stax.
- What I did
- Introduced the Súper Precios go-to-market initiative with the local team, addressing price rather than brand preference as the barrier to penetration, with an accessible price-pack proposition.
- Result
- 37% sell-in and 11% sell-out growth, recognized with the BAM award in the Bold and Brave category.
+37%
Sell-in growth, with 11% sell-out growth and the BAM award.
Lay's Kettle · Premium
Finding the premium opportunity nobody was serving.
- Scope
- Category marketing strategy for the potato chips portfolio, with three direct reports.
- What I did
- Identified an underserved premium opportunity from consumer insight and led the repositioning of Lay's Kettle: a new sea salt recipe, redesigned pack and communication.
- Result
- A premium proposition strong enough to be rolled out to Peru and Chile.
Doritos · Latin America
Same concept, different flavor: Roulette went sour.
- Scope
- Doritos across multiple markets in the region, with the multi-year brand strategic plan.
- What I did
- Launched Doritos Roulette in Chile, a concept built on consumer research and developed with R&D. When we took it to Colombia we changed the flavor: elsewhere spicy worked, there sour mattered more. That is how Ruleta Ácida was born.
- Result
- +8 points of market share in Chile. In Colombia, 2 points of share and a 126 index versus plan.
Cheetos · Innovation
24 points of segment share in two months.
- Scope
- End-to-end brand and innovation strategy for Doritos and Cheetos.
- What I did
- Launched Cheetos Popcorn, leading development with R&D, sales and operations.
- Result
- +24 points of segment share within two months.
How I work
Clear plans, aligned teams, measured impact.
I lead through influence, with or without formal authority, and I measure myself on impact rather than activity.
1
Unlock profitable growth
Sharpening brand positioning, portfolio and price pack architecture, including against private labels and discounters.
2
Scale innovation
Building business cases, aligning cross-functional teams and launching with discipline.
3
Make it executable
Turning complex marketing agendas into clear priorities that local teams can execute.
“It's not about having the loudest voice in the room but a genuine one.”
Beyond marketing
I built my own AI agent, and I use it every day.
A personal AI agent with persistent memory, running on Claude and Claude Code, for category and competitive analysis, consumer research, campaign copy and automated reporting. This page was built with it.
- The value shows up when you redesign the whole process, not when you add isolated use cases.
- An agent is most useful when it knows where it can be wrong and a person validates the output.
- Brand Strategy
- Portfolio Strategy
- Price Pack Architecture
- Innovation
- Go-to-Market
- Consumer Insights
- P&L Ownership
- Cross-Functional Leadership
- AI for Marketing
Career
From one market to 45.
Open any role to see what came out of it.
2025
Most recent role
Marketing Director, Carbonated Soft Drinks Business Unit · PostobónApr 2025 – Sep 2025
PepsiCo
2015 – 2025 · local, regional and global
Senior Global Marketing Manager, Pepsi Zero SugarJun 2023 – Mar 2025
- Global growth agenda across 45 markets, contributing to 11.9% global volume growth in 2024.
- Sustainability playbook piloted at the UEFA Champions League Final, adopted in more than five markets within a year.
Global Marketing Manager, PepsiFeb 2022 – May 2023
- Nutmeg Royale, the 2022 World Cup campaign: #1 in global engagement with 33.9 million views.
- Champions League always-on toolkit adopted by more than 20 markets.
Senior Regional Brand Manager, Potato Chips LatAmMar 2020 – Jan 2022
- Lay's, Ruffles and Stax across Latin America, with double-digit growth in key markets.
- Lay's Kettle repositioning, Súper Precios (BAM award) and the Lay's UEFA Champions League 2021 promotion.
Regional Brand Manager, Lay's LatAmFeb 2018 – Feb 2020
- Launched Lay's Sensations at a 110 index versus plan, taking the brand into premium for the first time.
- Pasión Futbolera: 9% volume and 12% net revenue growth while reducing investment 20% versus the prior year.
Regional Brand Manager, Doritos LatAmMar 2016 – Feb 2018
- Doritos Roulette: +8 points of market share in Chile. Ruleta Ácida: 126 index versus plan.
- Regional promotional platforms with Jurassic World and Marvel's Avengers.
Brand Manager, Doritos & CheetosFeb 2015 – Feb 2016
- Launched Cheetos Popcorn: +24 points of segment share within two months.
- Annual brand plan and five-year strategic plan, with volume forecasting through S&OP.
Quala
2012 – 2015 · Ego and Fortident
Senior Assistant Brand Manager, FortidentJan 2013 – Jan 2015
- Innova award for the launch of Fortident whitening toothpaste, gaining 2.4 points of share versus the category leader.
Assistant Brand Manager, EgoMar 2012 – Dec 2012
- Launched the Ego styling cream, growing volume 9% and recruiting new consumers into the brand.
3M
2010 – 2012
Sales and Marketing AnalystJul 2010 – Feb 2012
- Implemented Salesforce to manage dental professionals as customers in the Oral Care business.
IE Business School
International MBA · 2018 – 2019
Universidad Nacional de Colombia
B.Sc. Industrial Engineering · 2005 – 2010
Languages
English, full professional proficiency · Spanish, native
In their words
People I worked with, on the record.
Santiago is at his best in turning complexity into a clear plan that markets can execute. He is strategic, calm under pressure and genuinely collaborative, and people enjoy working with him.
He is one of those marketers who combines strategic clarity with real execution. He was demanding on standards, and he developed his direct reports into stronger marketers.
The briefs were clear, he was in touch with what the local markets required to ensure we delivered a successful football programme that would actually be used.