Pepsico: Alternative Beverage Market Case

Gatorade is a flagship brand of PepsiCo and has a commanding 75% market share of the sports nutrition beverage marketplace globally, being sold into 80 different countries according to the latest PepsiCo annual report published in late 2011. Gatorade's success in branding and product marketing has actually expanded the global market for sports nutrition beverages during the late 1990s and into the 21rst century. Recently however the company has faced many channels including product line extensions of the last decade which failed to deliver strong results (Pollack, 1997) and a more critical analysis of their ingredients as many of their beverages are sold in public schools (Tallon, 2009). Despite these challenges however, Gatorade continues to experience strong market share and growth. The intent of this analysis is to evaluate and provide recommendations for each of the four areas of the marketing mix including product, price, promotion and place or distribution.

The existing concentrate business is largely controlled by Coca-Cola Company (Coca-Cola) and PepsiCo (Pepsi), together claiming a combined 72% of the U.S. carbonated soft drink (CSD) market sales volume in 2009. Refer to Exhibit 1 for an illustration of the CSD industry value chain. For more than a century, Coca-Cola and Pepsi have maintained growth and large market shares through mastering five competitive forces, shown in Exhibit 2, that drive profitability and shape the industry structure.

§ Five dominant competitors: Red Bull, Hansen Natural (Monster), Pepsi (Sobe Adrenaline Rush, AMP), Rockstar, and Coke (Tab, Full Throttle)

Coca Cola and Pepsi are the brands with the highest brand equities. Both, Coca Cola and Pepsi have gone through the highs and lows of their business to reach that position. Coca Cola’s marketing has been changing over time with more and more products being added every day, while Pepsi has implemented several smart marketing strategies to improve its turnover and profits. So, let’s see what were the marketing strategies implemented by Coca Cola and Pepsi.

Our client, Premier Drinks of Sofia, Bulgaria specializes in the production and distribution of soft drinks and has been the primary soft drink company in Bulgaria for over 20 years. The company produces a variety of products that include carbonated and non-carbonated soft drinks, table water and energy drinks. For the past year Enhanced Analytics has delivered an expensive and competitive marketing campaign for Premier Drinks, but despite the continuous effort, careful management and professional dedication Premier Drinks have reported a drop in sales.

Coca-Cola is a leading beverage industry in the United States and many other countries in the world. PepsiCo is also a leading worldwide beverage company, but they are also the parent company of the Frito-Lay and Quaker Oats Companies. This makes PepsiCo a leader in the beverage, snack and cereal industries. As consumers, we have indulged in their products for many years. My personal preference has always been Pepsi over Coke, which is why I was very interested in conducting this analysis. Regardless of the results, I will always seek out a Diet Pepsi over a Diet Coke and so will many of my physician friends at Children’s Hospital who start their mornings with a Diet Pepsi. These personal preferences are what contributes to a company’s profits through net sales. However, the key performance measurement tools used are not based on sales alone. Calculating liquidity, solvency, and profitability ratios on a regular basis give us a better insight on the performance and overall health of a company.

2005 study found that the total market value of soft drinks was calculated to be $307.2 billion in 2004 was predicted to rise. The forecast showed that the market value will reach $367.1 billion in 2009 (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2017). The soft drink volume was 325,367.2 million liters in

One of the strengths that can be found in PepsiCo is in term of strong brand equity. PepsiCo has a strong brand name in the world place and the company is well-known worldwide. This company is the best global brand in the world in terms of value of net revenue $43,251 million in the year of 2008. The company has a very recognized and

A slow growing market is a great way to characterize the energy beverage category in late 2007. This industry was increasing in profits still but was not increasing in profits as quickly due to factors such as market maturity, increasing in prices, competition and new hybrid products (Kerin & Peterson, 2010). The market was still very small but was dominated by Red Bull due to it being one of the first energy drinks, which caused it to dictate the market and have more of an advantage than the other energy beverages. So in late 2007 the market for energy drinks was still

Energy drinks have outperformed the growth in carbonates in the last few years, and present a substantial opportunity for beverage manufacturers to extract further growth from their sales. There are many driving forces of change and critical success factors in the energy drink industry. Companies such as Coke Cola and Pepsi contend with criticism from health officials due to the excessive caffeine in most high-energy drinks. However, before the 2000’s consumers were accustomed to carbonated soft drinks as the traditional beverage. The shift to an energy drink, sports drink, and vitamin enhanced waters increased sales while becoming an alternative beverage choice for a fast-paced mobile society. Therefore, this industry endures many

In year 1965, PepsiCo Inc. is founded by Donald M. Kendall and Herman Lay. PepsiCo Inc. was merged by Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay in 1965. PepsiCo is an American multination industry that selling food and beverage. PepsiCo Inc. is the second-largest organisation that produces food and beverage in the world.

The last two topics within Porter’s Five Force Analysis are the threats of substitutes and new entries. The threat of substitutes for PepsiCo and Pepsi products could be considered quite high. In recent years, Americans have been cutting back soda consumption, approximately 1.2% in 2015, and 0.9% in 2014 (Taylor, 2016). Customers have been replacing soft drinks, in particular, with water, coffees, and all natural juices. This also leads the way for the threat of new entries. As people are tending to lean away from traditional soft drinks, the threat of new entrants could be considered moderate. This is because the cost of entry is relatively low as it is not a technology driven industry. Most of the cost of entry would be related to branding and marketing of the new product (Thompson, 1996). In recent years many competitors have entered the market with desirable ingredients and non-soft-drink beverages.

Branding is all about differentiation. Stephen King said; “A product is something made in a factory; a brand is something bought by a consumer. A product can be copied by a competitor; a brand is unique. A product can be quickly outdated; a brand is timeless.” This is the very root of why companies should brand their products. Brand equity is a massive asset to the company. It is relatively easy for a company to replicate another company’s physical assets as well as their logo and packaging etc. However it is the brand equity that cannot be replicated. This is where the competitive advantage stems from. A perfect example of this is Pepsi and coca Cola. In a blind taste test, the result indicated that the majority of Americans, in fact, favour Pepsi over Coca Cola. Coca Cola is the number 6 brand in the world and Pepsi doesn’t even reach the top 50. Coca Cola’s huge success is entirely to do with its effective branding which has lead to massive brand equity and it’s bottom line results speak for themselves.

Pepsi-Cola brand is a brand that has been established within the refreshment industry since the 19th century. Pepsi pride the business of consumer products in beverages and snacks, on being one of the best in the world. They seek

The focused Corporation of the subject strategic proposal is PepsiCo Beverages North America. This company was originally founded in 1898 by a North Carolina druggist. PepsiCo Beverages North America (herein referred to as the ‘Company’) sells several brands of consumer beverages in the United States and Canada. The various beverage products span through carbonated soft drinks, juices, readymade teas, isotonic sports drinks, bottled water, and enhanced waters. Several established brands include Diet Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Tropicana products, Aquafina Water, Sierra Mist, Mug, Propel, Sobe, and Dole. Refer to the Competitor Analysis section for in depth product information and listings.