With the buzz around the healthy sodas far from sparkling, Pepsi doubles the segment emerge just a few months after having acquired one of its pioneers, Poppi, by launching a new innovation: prebiotic cola pepsi.
The product is “one of the largest new innovations in the cola category,” said Mark Kirkham, CMO of Pepsico Beverages US, at Retail Brew. Containing 5 grams of cane sugar, 30 calories and 3 grams of prebiotic fibers, the new soda aims to give consumers more soda choices, he said, while Pepsi tries to meet the demand for healthier options. It will first be sold online in the original flavors of Cola and Cherry Vanilla for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, followed from the beginnings to retail in February, at the cost of a traditional Pepsi bonus, Kirkham said.
Poppi, whose acquisition was completed in May, also offers classic cola and cherry flavors with an almost identical nutritional profile, but Kirkham considers both as complementary, selling in two separate soda segments that reach different sets of consumers.
Kirkham has broken the new product and how it fits into its portfolio alongside Poppi and aligned itself with the wider pepsi drinking innovation strategy.
This interview was slightly modified for length and clarity.
Why did Pepsi decided to develop this product?
One of the things we wanted to do is respond to two opportunities. One is the cola category in decline. In particular, we have seen opportunities fall over time in the heart, but especially in the diet [soda]And also to seek new ways to deliver more functional ingredients, better for you, in our hearts. And obviously, it was the beginning of what has become the business of modern soda, and we started working on this point over a year ago.
We have found … We could reach an incredible product that is not artificial sweeteners, which represents 5 grams of cane sugar, which has the taste of Pepsi … But also there are prebiotic fibers … and this is the kind of ingredient that we have seen new consumers in the category. The reality is that no one has in Cola, and obviously super complementary to Poppi, which have two SKUs of Cola, but it is only 8% of their mixture. We believe it is an excellent opportunity to: one; Bring innovation to the traditional cola category; Two, compliment this new incredible family member in Poppi – they are the leader in the development of the modern soda category; And then three, offer a choice. Offering a choice to our consumers is the ultimate objective of these innovations … He is a win-win for the consumer, and he is a win-win for us.
What do you think of the similarity of these products?
Many of what makes Poppi so special is that it was built from zero. It was always a clean label, natural ingredients. One of the largest pilots was always apple cider vinegar. When you taste their cola, in particular their cherry and ordinary cola, it is a flavor profile very different from that, say, traditional cola, as we offer with Pepsi. We have estimated that there are a lot of cola lovers who have a certain expectation of a cola flavor, in particular Pepsi, but they also want alternatives in terms of different sweetening systems, or additional advantages, or to have a lower sugar. Being able to approach this part of the market which may not be approached by the Cola segment in modern soda – this is where the real opportunity is for us.
The prebiotic soda space has been breaking for several years. What triggered the development of this product now?
We just listened to the consumer and we saw the emergence of different segments in the category.
It is Pepsi, and Pepsi delivering a new product to address cola consumers, or, in the event that of some of the youngest consumers who may not have grown with cola as I did, right? … We bring them thanks to the fact that it is only 5 grams of sugar, no artificial subjects, that it is only 30 calories and the new consumer and the prebiotic and a new consumer.
We actually think that it is an excellent opportunity, say, Gen x female diet cola drinkers. It is possible to really come from a wider range of consumers. It is not only a pure game Gen Z, which is really what has built modern soda. This is a wider game for cola lovers.
How do you balance innovation on the nucleus in relation to the creation of acquisitions like Poppi?
The reality is that you have to do both … I like to say “nucleus and more”. The only way you really will stimulate growth in some of our categories is to really make sure that your heart is healthy and that you continue to innovate your heart, but at the same time, you cannot miss these new and emerging categories, like what we have seen in modern soda and poppi. It is a balanced approach that you have to adopt with innovation, but you must make sure that you do both heart and more, because we have built this incredible brand for more than 125 years. We have helped create incredible products through our food, through our zeros, but this next generation of consumers and as the category evolves, there are opportunities to offer a new innovation in the nucleus, and that’s what we do.
This report was initially published by Brew at retail.
