According to a recent research study for the Financial Times prepared by the consulting firm Wolff Olins, the world’s next top brands are set to rise in the east. A strategist at Wolff Olins, Melanie McShane, stated that "It used to be possible to be a global brand by dominating the US market. That’s changing rapidly. Now you have to be number one in Asia."

The findings of the Wolff Olins research echo research by the US-based consulting firm, Bain & Co. Their research estimated that one-third of the FT Global 500 companies could come from emerging markets by 2015 thanks to what it calls a "seismic shift" away from developed markets.

A partner with Bain & Co. said that established western consumer goods brands were being forced to "battle it out" with emerging market brands as they moved eastwards in order to take advantage of rising demand for branded products.

One such "battleground" is occurring in the beverage industry. The food and beverage business in general is normally thought of as relatively resistant to the ups and downs of the economy – it’s a safe, slow and steadily growing business.

However, the winds of change are blowing through the entire beverage industry worldwide. This once-sleepy industry is being changed drastically by the necessity to consolidate globally.

Part of the strategy to cope with increased competition from local brands is to simply try to buy them. But it is not that simple – Coca-Cola (NYSE: ) failed in its attempt to buy China’s largest juice group, Huiyuan, for $2.4 billion this year.

The winds of change are blowing through not only in the non-alcoholic beverage industry, but also in the alcoholic beverage industry.

We have seen ample evidence of the consolidation trend in the alcoholic beverage industry just in the past year with InBev’s purchase of Anheuser-Busch and the recent proposed merger between two big Japanese brewers, Kirin and Suntory.

The Japanese deal would create a global food and beverage giant with revenues exceeding those of Anheuser-Busch Inbev’s $22.3 billion and Coca-Cola’s $31.9 billion.

These winds of change may even be driving the alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage industries toward each other. This global consolidation trend in the entire beverage industry will test both the beverage producers and investors alike.

Here is why we’re keeping our eye on Pepsi as one of the most interesting companies in the industry, and why you should too.

Pepsico

Most investors are familiar with Pepsico (NYSE: ) – a  world leader in beverages, foods and convenient snacks with revenues of more than $39 billion. Pepsico owns some of the most wellknown consumer brands in the world. In the beverage sector these brands include Pepsi, Gatorade and Tropicana products.