USA - United Sodas of America

For the last few years, the carbonated beverages segment has been bearing the brunt of being seen as unhealthy and too sweet. Moreover, the battle of market share has largely been limited to two giants - Coca Cola and Pepsico.

Amidst the #Coronavirus pandemic, when companies think twice before launching a product, a New York based start-up company, United Sodas of America has launched a range of sodas that are extremely low on sugar and contain only 30 calories.

There is a total of 12 distinct flavors, ranging from Young Mango, Extra Peach, Pear Elderflower, Strawberry Basil, Orange Nectarine,Toasted Coconut, Sour Blueberry, Blackberry Jam, White Grape, Lemon Verbena, Gingery Ale and Cherry Pop.

I really like their #packaging. It has some nice, summery colours, simple fonts and minimalist #design.

Their website https://unitedsodas.com/ has also been designed with minimalism in mind. It is easy to navigate and right on the top of the home page, there is the option to shop for all the flavours, limited only to America.

I just wonder... if they become big and decide to expand beyond USA, would they still retain this name for their products?

THIRST FOR YOURS

Innovation is one of the biggest reasons for incremental sales and expansion of user base in the FMCG world. 

#Cola companies understand this the best and therefore they keep bringing new launches to the market.

This time, Coca-Cola has gone ahead and launched two new flavours in the US market - Sprite Ginger and Sprite Ginger Zero Sugar. These ginger flavours are a fusion with their lemon-lime base, developed in response to the increasing popularity of ginger-flavoured sparkling drinks.

However, the brand did not just stop there. They went ahead and launched a limited edition line of clothes - Ginger Collection. Sprite got designer Jeff Staple on board, who crowd-sourced creatives on #Instagram and took inspiration from people across art, fashion and photography to come up with the designs.

Cola brands like Coke, Pepsi, #Sprite are part of the youth culture and they go beyond just the products. By giving their consumers the opportunity of wearing their clothes line, Sprite is taking yet another step to become a part of the consumers' lifestyle.

COFFEE COLA

In line with their strategy to diversify and keeping innovating #Pepsi has just announced the launch of their Pepsi Cafe range. 

This special combination of #cola with #coffee will be a limited edition that would be launched in the US market in April 2020 and would be available in two flavors - original and vanilla.

What is interesting is that Coca Cola has a similar product called Coke Plus Coffee, which is available in a few markets but still not available in USA. 

Will we see Coca Cola moving fast and bringing their product in the US markets before the debut of Pepsi Cafe? It's a wait and watch game. 

However, this also will eat into the share of the cold coffee market, so we will see lot of action from the coffee players as well to protect their share.

TAKE AN OATH

Healthy and conscious eating is rising with every passing year, every new research and every new study. 

Companies - big and small are taking lot of efforts to not only innovate with, but also educate about healthy eating and wholesome ingredients.

Here is another example from a new brand Oath that has launched a range of functional oat milk-based beverages in USA. 

These Oath Organic Milk products come with plant protein in flavours that have strong health associations and good taste - matcha chai, turmeric, Indian rose.

These #beverages also include nutritious ingredients like almonds, pumpkin seeds, apple fibre, spices like saffron, ginger, and cardamom to offer various health benefits. All the products are #organic, riding on all the key trends that matter to the consumers in that market.

I believe that the milk segment will continue to see many such innovations and launches as awareness and income rises in more and more economies.

GLOCALISATION MATTERS

On a recent trip to Vadodara, India I came across a Starbucks hoarding announcing the launch of their new cafe in Vadodara. 

Instead of the usual names that they put on their cups, the hoarding mentioned endearing terms that are used all over Gujarat for known and unknown people - Kaka (Uncle), Bhai (Brother), Bapu (Elder Man), Ben (Sister), etc.

This piece of outdoor advertising brought a smile to my face. In marketing, we are always told and taught that global brands need to localize (glocalisation) to connect in a stronger way with their audience.

Here is a great example by #Starbucks, where they are going a step further in bringing the cultural nuances of a state in its advertising and communication to make people feel closer to the brand and see the #brand as their own rather than an alien brand. 

I then went to check the #Instagram handle of Starbucks India and they had very smartly used the same creative on their Instagram feed as well, bringing consistency in their messaging and reaching the audience across touch points. 

Here is a very simple yet effective lesson for all marketers out there.

PS: The hoarding picture was clicked, while sitting in a moving car, so I could not get the best shot.

THE AHA MOMENT!

The #innovation engine at The Coca-Cola Company continues to churn out idea after idea!

Just a few weeks back, we saw Coca Cola venturing into cola flavoured mints and festive drinks to expand their franchise and boost incremental revenues. 

Now, for 2020, Coca Cola is gearing up for a big launch in the flavoured sparkling water market of USA with the launch of #AHA in eight new and exciting flavours in two sizes. 

This launch is yet another step from #Coke to move into healthier space as part of its beverage

#strategy. Mainstream flavoured sparkling #water is the largest and fastest growing part of the water business, and the current U.S. market size of $3.1 billion makes it the perfect playground for Coca Cola to enter.

American #consumers are gravitating toward drinks that have functional elements and nutritional value or a jolt of caffeine. They also want healthy, low-sugar or sugar-free offerings. Sparkling water ticks a lot of those boxes, and American consumers are buying more of it. 

#Pepsico already saw the potential, and in 2018, they had launched a range called Bubly in this segment. Bubly has grown sales by triple digits since then and has taken a 6.2% dollar share of the category this year.

This is a segment to watch closely.

FESTIVE FLAVOURS FOR WINTER

The Coca-Cola Company continues on its #innovation journey. 

After their recent launch of Coca Cola flavoured Tic Tac in the mints category in 70 nations, Coke has now come up with a limited edition range for winter in select markets.

They have introduced Coca Cola Cinnamon and Winter Spiced Cranberry Sprite - flavours that are relevant for the season and have a festive feel to it.  

                         

This #Coke and #Sprite range will only be available till 31st December, so the company wants to leverage #Christmas to drive their sales as much as possible, especially because cold beverage sale drops significantly in the winter months. So this is a great way to avoid the negative effects of seasonality on their sales graph. 

Good job by their #marketing and innovation teams.  

EAT YOUR WHISKY!

That seems to be the message that whisky brand Glenlivet is giving to the world with its new capsule collection. 

The Glenlivet Capsule Collection is set of fully #biodegradable pods that can be popped into the mouth for a burst of scotch without the need of a glass or a stirrer. #Whisky connoisseurs are obviously not happy with this, but every new #innovation comes with its set of naysayers. 

The smart thing that the brand has done is to keep it as a limited edition to gauge the #consumer response and then decide whether the idea needs to be scaled up or not.

 

                                                       #product #kunalviews #idea

WORLD'S FIRST SMART NUTRITION BOTTLE

As the world population continues to become more aware and conscious of its health, nutrition and lifestyle, we keep seeing companies come up with #innovations that may or may not set the market on fire. 

Technology start-up firm LifeFuels claims that it has launched the ‘world’s first’ smart #nutrition bottle', which comes with an #app to track your hydration and nutrition goals.

The bottle uses naturally-flavoured FuelPods along with water to provide a variety of functional ingredients such as electrolytes and antioxidants.

The bottle comes with a seven-day battery life, and can hold up to three FuelPods, which can craft up to 90 customised beverages, depending on your taste and your mood. 

The question is whether such a product will see scale or remain limited to a niche audience. 

Venture capitalists seem to be giving the company a thumbs up so far, as LifeFuels has just secured a Series A funding recently.

Lets's see how this segment and category evolves and whether the big players jump onto this opportunity or not.