Gatorade Research Paper

The Gatorade Company is a sports-themed beverage and food product producer that is manufactured by PepsiCo It was created by scientists at the University of Florida College of Medicine in 1965 as a replenishment drink for athletes. Currently, it is distributed in over 80 countries worldwide and is a leading brand in sports drinks. Since PepsiCo's acquisition of Gatorade, they have deployed both line and brand extensions to increase revenue and to expand the brand. Throughout the years they have introduced a variety of flavors, a variance in sports drinks, food, and clothing with their logo. Recognizing that trends were shifting to healthier lifestyles, PepsiCo embarked on its newest innovation with their proposition of a healthier version of

With the sports nutrition market expected to exhibit growth due to recent changes in lifestyles, PepsiCo has the "first mover advantage" with their introduction of Organic Gatorade, but they still have to compete with other strong competitive forces, such as Coca-Cola's Powerade and Body Armor. Organic Gatorade has been introduced with having three flavors: strawberry, lemon, and mixed berry, this could demonstrate to be a downfall for this sports drink since many competitors are introducing a variety of flavors that could attract more consumers to their brands. Body Armor, a sports drink that claims that it is a healthier drink option because it is made from coconut water and has all-natural ingredients, is partially owned by Kobe Bryant is attacking PepsiCo's Gatorade to take over their market share (Snyder, 2015). Body Armor has many athletes that are not just paid to endorse the product but also have equity in the company, this advantage allows them to gain the insights of these athletes with how to market the product by including them in the business decisions. PepsiCo has always been competitive with Coca-Cola; this rivalry still stands true with the sports drinks industry. Coca-Cola has stated that to continue to meet the needs of the consumer that they would lower the amount of sugar and shrink the drink sizes (Zimberoff, 2017). In order for PepsiCo to stay a competitive force in the sports drink wars, they need to make changes such as offering a smaller size of their Organic Gatorade and lowering the price. Most sports drinks are offered to have a comparable price, however, if marketers for Organic Gatorade lowered their price they would be able to attract more consumers. They would be allowing the consumer the opportunity to have a healthier drink with a lower price than the