A criminal complaint named Edmund Duhaney, 43, and Joya Williams, 41, both of Georgia, and Ibrahim Dimson, 30, of New York, with alleged wire fraud and unlawfully stealing and selling trade secrets from The Coca Cola Company.
The investigation was launched after PepsiCo turned over to its cola rival a letter in May from a person identifying himself as "Dirk," who claimed to be employed at a high level with Coca-Cola.
In the letter Dirk offered "very detailed and confidential information," a US Justice Department statement said.
Coca-Cola contacted the FBI, which launched the investigation leading to the arrests.
PepsiCo senior vice president for public relations Mark Dollins confirmed that his company alerted Coca Cola to the scheme.
"We only did what any responsible company would do," Mr Dollins said. "Competition can be tough, but we must always be fair and legal."