Pepsi Brand and Product Life Cycle

1898- late 1920s

Pepsi was first introduced as Brad’s Drink, a drink to help in digestion, but later renamed Pepsi-Cola (PepsiCo, 2021). Pepsi-Cola was introduced into the market with only the basic product offered to consumers. The introduction aimed to create awareness among consumers of the existence of the drink. First, consumers could only purchase Pepsi-Cola from the premises of the pharmacies owned by Caleb Bradham, a pharmacist who developed the formula for the drink (PepsiCo, 2021). The sales promotion employed in the introduction of Pepsi-Cola was consumer trials which created awareness.

Growth: Early 1930s- late 1970s

The stiff competition in the market forced the brand to change its promotion strategies and began to employ aggressive methods to compete against its biggest competitor- Coca-Cola. The brand employed price competition, offering low prices, gaining a larger portion of the market, and changing its distribution strategies to include selling it as a consumer product in the market (PepsiCo, 2021). The brand utilized extensive advertisement to increase its awareness among the market segments with little sales promotion because of its more attractive prices.

Maturity: 1980- Date

During its growth, Pepsi-Cola changed its name to only Pepsi to help differentiate it from its competition. The brand has matured and now occupies a significant portion of the market, competing with others for the share (PepsiCo, 2021). In its maturity phase, the brand has extended its operations into the global market, which has had a significant impact on its revenue. Also, several product extensions have helped the brand stay meaningful in the market for a very long time, including Gatorade, Quaker, Tropicana, and SodaStream (PepsiCo, 2021).

Decline

The Pepsi brand has not entered into a decline phase as it still operates a huge market share and its consumers.

Reference

PepsiCo (2021). About the Company. Web.