Ramon Laguarta
Analyst · BofA. Your line is open
I think two. I mean, this is a great question, Brian and it's probably for a long conversation. I think international will continue to be a growth and profit key driver for the company for the long term. And it's -- if you look at the population inside, outside of the company, outside of the U.S. and how develop our per caps are internationally versus in the U.S. you could see right away that is the growth. And fortunately, we're now at a stage in the growth development of the company where that business is accretive to the company. So, two elements, high growth, high right to succeed in those markets, in the majority of those markets, both in beverages and in snacks and foods, and, accretive business. So, that part, and we'll continue to invest. We're investing in capacity, we're investing in talent, we're investing in go-to-market. We're investing in portfolio and the brands, and that will continue. Now, what I disagree with you is in the fact that the U.S. business cannot grow at a faster speed than it is growing today. I think I have -- I think the U.S. business, both beverages and foods, will continue to grow at a very good rate in the U.S. And when you think about the overall opportunity, both from the better execution to evolving the portfolio, to moving into new channels like away from home, we have, tremendous opportunities to take our brands into new spaces, leverage the capability of our business. And now that we have an operating model that will be more integrated in the U.S. that will give us more resources, will be less duplicated in some areas and synergize in other areas where we can drive growth in new service models direct-to-consumer, direct to B2B, whatever the we choose to play. So, I think the U.S., we see it as a girl driver. We see it as a source of funding for the rest of the world, but also a growth opportunity for the company. Way above where we are today, I think we're today in a broad emphasis given by all the consumer dynamics and some other dynamics that are happening in the us but that will go through -- we'll have a more relevant portfolio. We'll be in the relevant channels. We'll have the right price points and the consumer will be in a better place eventually in the U.S. So, we see the two components of growth, obviously international, we will grab that opportunity with the right investments, the right talent, the right brand strategies and challenge strategies. But the U.S. it's a great opportunity for us and we think we have the right to win. And we have the fundamentals of brands and market presence to capture that opportunity as well.