As a senior brand manager for PepsiCo., Darrin Rahn creates marketing strategies for some of the world’s most well-known brands.
Rahn (’12 agricultural business, marketing) steered the multinational’s tea and water portfolios (Aquafina, LIFEWTR, Lipton, Pure Leaf, and Brisk) before recently moving to man- age SodaStream.
The switch is in line with the company’s global sustainability effort, “PepsiCo Positive.”
Tenets of the program align so closely with Rahn’s passions that it’s a match made in snack food heaven: positive agriculture, positive value chain, and positive choices.
“We go all the way to the source to determine how we can grow a better potato for Lay’s, oats for Quaker Oats, tea for Lipton. And we consider ways to do so that are sustainable for a healthy planet,” Rahn says.
Rahn has a knack for finding positions with companies that align with his personal values of advancing agriculture and inclusive communities. “I won’t join any company that I can’t see myself driving passionate impact and success,” he says.
Building a marketing strategy is more than working with ad agencies and reviewing storyboards and ad copy, though he does plenty of that. He builds relationships, creates strategy, watches results, and course corrects when necessary. With budgets in the millions, he considers all avenues.
Rahn’s first job at Target Corporation in Minneapolis helped him learn to create merchandising strategy and collaborate with global vendors. He broadened his experience at General Mills, where he developed brand strategies for big names like Betty Crocker and Bisquick. And he was actively involved in each corporation’s LGBTQ+ employee support and marketing efforts.
After interning with PepsiCo. and finishing his Harvard MBA in 2019, he joined the company full-time and became a member of their LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group’s leadership team.
PepsiCo. has multiple Employee Resource Groups—volunteer-based support systems for different identity groups—that provide support, connection, and build awareness.
They also offer feedback on business strategy, company marketing, and consumer promotions.
“The best ads hit on an emotional truth,” says Rahn. “We need to take intentional risks of where and how we can evolve as a brand and as people. Our differences are accepted, celebrated, and applied to make the company better. This leads to diversity of thought that is good for brands and people. We can change hearts and minds one person at a time.”