'Pepsi spice cola' set for a big-bang launch during the IPL; to take on Thums Up

NEW DELHI Beverage maker PepsiCo is preparing for a big-bang launch, ‘ Pepsi spice cola’, which will ride on the Rs150-crore the company is spending during the IPLT20 tournament which kicks off on April 3, said people familiar with the matter.


The new offering, among the snacks and beverage firm’s biggest, will take on rival Thums Up which remains the country’s biggest soft drink brand owned by Coca-Cola.

Internally dubbed as Pepsi ‘Atom’, the product is an Indian innovation, said two officials aware of the development. Though it could not be verified whether the final product will be named Pepsi Atom, the firm is hoping the spicy cola will snatch critical share from rival Thums Up, which has the strongest carbonation among all fizzy drinks and leads the pack among soft drinks.

Four years back, PepsiCo had tweaked the carbonation of its cola by making it fizzier to take on rival Thums Up in the latter’s stronghold – Andhra Pradesh - but the move did not pan out according to PepsiCo’s plan. Incidentally, AP is among the country's top three soft drinks markets.

Without divulging details of the upcoming launch, a PepsiCo spokesperson said: “Innovation is key to refreshing our category. We have launched various flavours as part of big Pepsi cricket activations in the past, and we will do so again as part of the IPL 2013.” Thums Up, started by Ramesh Chauhan over three decades back, has consistently managed to maintain its leadership position in the Rs 14,000-crore soft drinks market, with about 15% share, followed by Pepsi, an official quoting researcher Nielsen’s data said.

But marketing experts are somewhat skeptical about the move. “There are some categories where variants are not only useful but mandatory like snacks and ice-cream. But in beverages, consumers usually don’t like variations in what they drink, and a new offering could come at the price of something else,” said Anand Halve, co-founder of Chlorophyll Brand & Consultancy. PepsiCo, which last week signed the under-19 cricket captain Unmukt Chand as brand ambassador, is planning to spend almost Rs 150 crore, or Rs 3 crore per day, during the 50-day IPL tournament. The cola and chips maker already has India captain MS Dhoni besides actors Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra as brand ambassadors. Two other cricketers – Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina --are also part of its list of brand ambassadors.

This includes its estimated Rs 50-crore deal with Multi Screen Media, owner of SET Max channel, for one of the two presenting sponsors of the event and Rs 80 crore for title sponsorship of IPL, which it bagged in a Rs 400-crore, five-year deal.

It is also likely to seal a cumulative Rs 16-18 crore deal to become the pouring rights drinks partner of all eight IPL teams expect Mumbai Indians, which Coca-Cola is aligned with. Pouring rights allows a beverage maker exclusive rights to serve its beverages in the team's home stadiums, besides branding activation like space on players’ T-shirts and jerseys.