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Daily Mail
06-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Pepsi falls out of America's top three sodas in surprising shift
Pepsi was once Coca Cola's main rival — but now it's slipped so far that it no longer ranks among the top three sodas in America. Just last year, Pepsi was dethroned by Dr Pepper as the No 2 soda brand in the US. Now, Sprite has overtaken it too, claiming third place. According to Beverage Digest, Sprite accounted for 8.03 percent of all canned soda sales in 2024, edging out Pepsi's 7.97 percent. Dr Pepper holds second place with 8.3 percent — all still far behind Coca-Cola, which dominates with a 19.1 percent share. Coke is still the undisputed king of the $97 billion US soda industry with more than double the market shares of any of its rivals at 19.18 percent. It's a remarkable fall. Back in the 1980s, Pepsi nearly toppled Coke during the height of the 'Cola Wars.' As recently as 20 years ago, Dr Pepper's and Sprite's sales were each less than half of Pepsi's. One in every nine sodas sold was a Pepsi. Dr Pepper was only the sixth most popular soda behind Sprite. The chart below, based on a report from Beverage Digest , shows how market share for Pepsi, Dr Pepper and Sprite has converged — with Dr Pepper now very slightly ahead. The change in fortunes comes after 140-year-old Dr Pepper increased its market share with advertising pushes, new flavors and a boost from TikTok trends. Sprite, created by Coca-Cola in 1961, has also gained ground thanks to heavy investment from its parent company to secure prime shelf space in stores Meanwhile, consumers have been shifting away from regular Pepsi in favor of low-sugar options and fresh competitors drinks like Poppi and Olipop. But Pepsi hasn't thrown in the towel. Bosses say the numbers — which cover market share through 2024 — don't fully capture its current momentum this year. 'We're focused on building the Pepsi brand, which includes options like Zero Sugar and flavor innovations like Wild Cherry,' a spokesperson said. They also point out that the Pepsi brand remains the overall No 2 soda — when taking into account the other versions, which also include Diet. Pepsi is spending millions to lure customers back. The company has revived the iconic Pepsi Challenge — a marketing campaign that helped close the gap with Coca-Cola in the 1980s. This time, pop-up taste tests across US cities pit Pepsi Zero Sugar against Coke Zero Sugar in blind trials. So far, Pepsi says the campaign is working. It reports a sales edge over sugar-free rivals and 8 percent year-over-year growth for its Wild Cherry flavor. But soda makers face growing policy headwinds that could squeeze profits. Arkansas and Indiana have introduced rules that would ban shoppers from using SNAP benefits to buy soda — a move officials say promotes public health. Industry groups pushed back, calling the proposals unfair. Representatives for American Beverage accused state and federal officials of 'choosing to be the food police rather than take truly meaningful steps to lift people off SNAP with good-paying jobs.' The financial impact could be significant. In 2016, SNAP recipients spent $3.7 billion on soda. Meanwhile, the companies are not immune from President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs. PepsiCo, which has sent some manufacturing capacity to Ireland, has products that are subject to the President's 10 percent import tax. Meanwhile, the soda companies are sifting through the policy ramifications of 25 percent aluminum tariffs. The metal is a common material used for canning their products.
The National
05-05-2025
- Business
- The National
Former Apple chief Sculley attends opera about Steve Jobs
Former Apple chief executive John Sculley recently had the opportunity to relive the highs and lows of working with Steve Jobs by attending an opera about the late technology tycoon in Washington. 'A wonderful evening at the Kennedy Centre in Washington DC,' he posted in an Instagram photo carousel showing his attendance at The (R) evolution of Steve Jobs. According to Mr Sculley's social media posts, he also treated those in attendance to an impromptu question-and-answer session to discuss his experiences working with Mr Jobs and his time at Apple. In what has now become part of Silicon Valley folklore, Mr Jobs convinced Mr Sculley to make the leap from PepsiCo, where he served as president, to Apple as chief executive in 1983, which at the time was seen as an unprecedented and risky career move. With his marketing background that won him accolades at Pepsi through campaigns such as the Pepsi Challenge, he helped bolster revenue on Apple products such as the Apple II, while also working closely with Mr Jobs on introducing the Macintosh computer in 1984. Although revolutionary for its graphical user interface that is now ubiquitous in computing, sluggish Macintosh sales caused tension between Mr Sculley and Mr Jobs, leading Apple's board to side with Mr Sculley and strip Mr Jobs of a role in the company. Apple's revenue grew rapidly in the initial years following Mr Jobs's departure, but the company's lead with Macintosh methodically evaporated as Microsoft made progress with Windows and the proliferation of PC clones led to increasingly slim profit margins for the industry as a whole. The company's sales and market share plummeted and many blamed Mr Sculley for failing to adjust Apple's direction. He was sacked in 1993, and later watched as Mr Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, bringing the company from the brink of bankruptcy to one of the most influential technology companies in the world. For years, in many Silicon Valley and business circles, Mr Sculley was cast as a villain, the man who made the mistake of firing Mr Jobs. But in recent years, he has pointed out in interviews that Apple's board at the time made the decision. He has also since said that it was mistake to leave Mr Jobs with no role at Apple during the tumultuous year that led to his dismissal. In a 2014 interview with The National, Mr Sculley briefly touched on his time at Apple and the fracture of his relationship with Mr Jobs. 'I have so many mistakes, we don't have the time to go through them. You only learn from your mistakes, you never learn from your successes,' he said at the time. 'If anything, the biggest risk is when you are successful, you become a victim of that success because you believe you did something brilliantly well and then you later discover you were just plain lucky.' Mr Sculley is chairman of Nirvana Health / RxAdvance, which assists with pharmaceutical and the reduction of administrative health care costs. He also cofounded Obi Mobile in 2014, a company that launched what it described as affordable smartphones, although the company is no longer operational. Mr Sculley is not featured in the opera, although several actors have portrayed him in films and shows over the years. He previously praised Jeff Daniels portrayal of him in Aaron Sorkin's 2015 Steve Jobs biopic. The former Apple chief executive also figured prominently in the award-winning documentary General Magic, which took an in-depth look at one of the first attempts at creating a smartphone in the mid-1990s. The Grammy-winning The (R) evolution of Steve Jobs is currently being staged at Washington's Kennedy Centre. John Moore sings the role of Mr Jobs.
Daily Mail
26-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Coca-Cola has secretly changed the recipe on a best-selling drink
Coca-Cola has quietly tweaked the recipe for one of its biggest fan favorites — and some shoppers aren't thrilled. Coke Zero, the company's calorie-less cola, now contains stevia extract, a plant-derived sweetener that's long been marketed as a natural sugar substitute. The change appears to have rolled out around September 2024, when the US ingredients list was updated to include the new additive, found. New bottles and cans appearing in grocery stores have the sweetener tacked onto the end of the label. Customers took notice. 'It was already delicious. Now it tastes kinda like Pepsi,' one hawk-eyed Redditor said about the new drink mix. 'Very sweet and tasty at first, though, as I keep drinking it, I dislike the taste more and more.' Coke has openly changed the recipe for its fan-favorite product several times in the past. The sugarless drink received revamps in 2017 and 2021, with the latter changes earning thousands of positive reviews. The company also had a famous ingredient swap in 1985 that didn't go so well. Coca-Cola launched a new formula for its flagship soda, branding it 'New Coke.' The rollout sparked a full-on consumer revolt, with people hoarding the original version and calling corporate hotlines in protest. 'The Coca‑Cola Company was getting 1,500 calls a day on its consumer hotline, compared with 400 a day before the taste change,' Coke said in a blog about the recipe shake-up. 'People seemed to hold any Coca‑Cola employee — from security officers at our headquarters building to their neighbors who worked for Coke — personally responsible for the change.' The backlash was so intense that the company reversed course within three months, bringing back the original recipe under the name Coca-Cola Classic. At the time, Pepsi was riding high with a marketing blitz known as the Pepsi Challenge — a taste test campaign that chipped away at Coke's market dominance. The challenge was partially successful, and Pepsi briefly gained ground. But it's since sputtered to third place in the soda market, with Dr. Pepper sneaking past for second. Curiously, Pepsi just relaunched a new version of the Pepsi Challenge in 2025 — this time pitting the zero-sugar drinks head-to-head. Representatives for Coca-Cola didn't immediately respond to request for comment. Coke's soda wars Coke and Pepsi have engaged in a decades-long battle for soda pop supremacy. But Coca-Cola may have just received an unforeseen financial power boost over its nemesis. In 1970, Pepsi moved manufacturing for some of its most popular concentrates to Ireland because of the country's lower tax rates. The third-place soda brand's manufacturing strategy is in the middle of President Donald Trump's trade war crosshairs. Trump has slapped a 10 percent tariff on all imported products. The import tax threatens to cut into Pepsi's profit margin right as the sodamaker just reported a 1.8 percent drop in net sales. Pepsi reported $17.92 billion in sales during its first quarter of 2025. Coca Cola will release its earnings later this week.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
PepsiCo names new US beverages CMO amid soda category disruption
This story was originally published on Marketing Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Marketing Dive newsletter. PepsiCo named Mark Kirkham as CMO of U.S. beverages, effective April 7, per details shared with Marketing Dive. The unit houses brands including Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Bubly, Starry and Gatorade. Kirkham, who has over 14 years of experience at the company, takes over the role from longtime marketing chief Greg Lyons, who is leaving PepsiCo to pursue an external opportunity. Kirkham in October became senior vice president of sparkling beverages for PepsiCo North America, a move that saw him return to the U.S. after overseeing international beverages for the CPG giant. Lyons had served as CMO of the sprawling U.S. beverages group since 2018, an impressive run for a C-suite spot that is prone to churn. Former Pepsi CMO Todd Kaplan, another longtime PepsiCo executive, left the company last June for Kraft Heinz. 'Mark is a multi-disciplined marketer and creative storyteller with deep, global experience in the beverage business. He led the step-changed international approach to accelerating zero sugar and expanding our portfolio to address the needs of evolving consumers,' said Ram Krishnan, CEO of PepsiCo Beverages U.S., in a statement around the promotion. 'In working with Mark over the years, I've been impressed by his imaginative approach to scalable problem solving; he is well-poised to take on this role and lead us into the next chapter of innovation and growth.' PepsiCo in the announcement highlighted several of Kirkham's past wins, such as leading a well-received rebrand for Pepsi in international markets and an iteration of the soft drink's famous Pepsi Challenge campaign centered on its zero-sugar offering. Kirkham's bona fides in the better-for-you arena speak to where PepsiCo's strategic focus is shifting. The company earlier this month acquired prebiotic soda brand Poppi for nearly $2 billion, teeing up another battle in the soda wars saga as chief rival Coca-Cola also dips its toes into a category that is winning favor with key Gen Z and millennial consumers. Prebiotic sodas, which promote benefits to gut health and also encompass disruptor brands like Olipop, make up a market that is estimated to reach $3.5 billion in value by 2032. How Poppi will be handled on the marketing front likely won't be clear until the closing of the deal, which is still subject to regulatory approval. PepsiCo switching up marketing leadership for one of its flagship divisions comes at a challenging juncture. Like many in the food and beverage industry, the marketer is grappling with more price-conscious shoppers and ongoing global uncertainty. Demand for its snacks and beverages again dropped in North America in Q4 2024, though organic revenue climbed 2.1% for the end-of-year period. Other changes of late at PepsiCo beverages include a visual refresh and repositioning for Mountain Dew that has seen the soda embrace what executives call 'energizing refreshment' and ramp up marketing around a new brand character, the Mountain Dude. Recommended Reading How Coca-Cola is marketing Simply Pop, its first prebiotic soda Sign in to access your portfolio
