The product range is a key component of the soda companies’ strategy because offering a large range of tastes, flavors or amount of calories is essential to remain competitive on the market. The cola variations can attract different consumers and they are a way of targeting different market segments. It is also important for soda producers to answer new needs and to remain innovative in order to keep a dynamic brand image.
Let’s take a look at the different types of cola drinks that The Coca-Cola Company and Pepsi are selling on the French market.
Coca-Cola Classic, Coca-Cola Light and Coca-Cola Zero are the most popular types of cola drinks sold by The Coca-Cola Company. The brand has also developed several variations of those three best sellers: caffeine-free or flavored with cherry, lime, lemon..
It is really interesting to see that The Coca-Cola Company has decided to develop two types of sugar free cola drinks. The Coca-Cola Light isn't aimed at imitating the taste of the Coca-Cola Classic, its taste is unique and recognizable. The Coca-Cola Zero was developed to be the sugar-free version of the Coca-Cola Classic, it is aimed at copying the taste of the classic recipe without the calories. In terms of market segmentation, the Coca-Cola Light is more likely to target women while the Coca-Cola Zero can also attract men. The caffeine free Coca-Cola targets consumers that want to reduce their caffeine consumption while continuing to enjoy this soda drink. The flavored variations like Coca-Cola Cherry or Coca-Cola lemon are an alternative to the Classic Coca-Cola taste and proposing new formulas is part of the innovation strategy.
PepsiCo offers a smaller range of products than its main rival. Only four types of Pepsi cola drinks are available on the French market: Pepsi, Pepsi Light, Pepsi MAX and now Pepsi NEXT. Pepsi Light and Pepsi MAX are sugar-free variations of the original Pepsi, they both contains artificial sweeteners and less than one calorie per can.
In March 2013, PepsiCo has launched Pepsi NEXT in France. This new variation of Pepsi cola contains 30% less sugar than the original recipe and doesn't contain any artificial sweeteners. Pepsi NEXT is targeting a new market segment, this segment is between the classic recipe with sugar and the sugar-free variations (Pepsi MAX and Pepsi Light). The Pepsi NEXT is an alternative option that is innovative and The Coca-Cola Company isn't offering such a product on the French market yet.
But The Coca-Cola company is now testing its new product in Argentina: the Green Coke (with stevia as a natural sweetener). It seems that those two rivals will continue to surprise the consumers with new product innovations !
Agathe L.
No comments:
Post a Comment