This May, Pepsi® is disrupting the cola category once again with its brand new, limited-edition blue cola launch, Pepsi Electric®. Following a successful rebrand earlier this year and longstanding flavour innovation within the market, the new launch challenges what consumers expect from a cola – boasting a zesty, citrus taste with a striking blue liquid, available for 12 months across the convenience, wholesale and grocery channels. Pepsi Electric is launching exclusively as a 500ml bottle format, offering shoppers more choice when they’re on-the-go. The new product development is also sugar-free, designed to enable retailers to cater to growing preferences for zero sugar soft drink options, without having to compromise on bold flavours and great taste.
As the number one soft drinks category, worth £5.9bn[1], cola presents a significant opportunity for retailers to maximise sales. However, with taste being the biggest driver of choice for consumers choosing their cola drink[2], shoppers are continuously on the lookout for striking new flavours, particularly Generation Z shoppers. As a result, recruiting Gen-Z into the category remains crucial to futureproofing cola sales, with flavours over-indexing in younger generations (i129)[3].
Pepsi is perfectly placed to drive this growth through delivering on taste, with over 70% of consumers preferring Pepsi MAX® vs the leading full sugar cola[4]. As a result, Pepsi Electric is set to help retailers cater to those demographics on the hunt for innovative new products, building on the brand’s already successful flavour portfolio that includes Pepsi MAX® Cherry, Lime and Mango, and is worth £200m RSV[5].
Ben Parker, Britvic Retail Commercial Director in Great Britain, said: “Pepsi Electric embodies shopper preferences for fresh, special edition flavours while incorporating the unmissable vibrant blue cola liquid, which will grab shopper attention at shelf and capture the next generation. Tying in with Pepsi’s Thirsty for More campaign, the pack design echoes the electric blue and black of the recent logo rebrand, alongside the signature Pepsi pulse – bringing the brand to life, ensuring consumer recognition and encouraging shoppers to make the most of this limited-edition flavour. Pepsi Electric is set to help retailers increase basket spend and tap into the flavoured cola segment, a market which is growing three times faster than unflavoured cola[6].”
Launching in a 500ml plain pack, Pepsi Electric will be available to the grocery channel from 17th June. The 500ml PET has a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of £1.99 and the launch will be supported by a widespread marketing campaign including out of home advertising, PR, digital and social media.
[1]NielsenIQ RMS, Total Coverage inc. Discounter, Cola Sector Britvic defined, Value Sales, Flavoured Vs Unflavoured, L52W w/e 13.04.24
[1] NielsenIQ RMS, Total Coverage including Discounters, Total Cola, Value Sales, MAT to WE 02.03.24 + CGA by NielsenIQ, Total Out of Home, Total Cola, Value Sales, MAT to W.E 31.12.2023
[2]Kantar Usage Panel In Home & Carried Out, Lumina, OOH occasions, Share of Soft Drinks / Total Occasions, 52we 18 Feb 24
[3]Kantar worldpanel, Take home, Total Market, flavoured/non flavoured Cola Buyers 52 w/e 14th April
[4] “In a blind sampling in the UK between 03/10/23 to 25/11/23: 39,266 of 54,899 people sampled preferred the taste of Peps MAX to the UK’s biggest selling full sugar cola.”
[5] NielsenIQ RMS, Total Coverage inc Discounters, Pepsi Max Brand, Flavours (Cherry / Lime / Mango), Value Sales L52W w/e 13.04.24
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