Manmeet Sabharwal's Blog

Pepsi India is about to launch its popular brand Pepsi Max in India.India has already tried,tasted and accepted Pepsi in its two avatars,Pepsi and Diet Pepsi.

So whats this Pepsi Max ? First impression was that its a sugar free diet Pepsi in a new bottle but when did a little bit research,TMSBee found out that itdiffers from both its previous avatars.It differs from Pepsi in that it contains phosphoric acid, acesulfame potassium, calcium disodium EDTA, Panax ginseng extract and twice the amount of caffeine.

The word Ginseng rings some bells.TATA TiON also boasted of having ginseng and its claimed to be a natural stress reliever.But will double the amount of Caffeine do good ?

According to PepsiCo India,Pepsi Max offers consumers a great tasting Cola, with more strength, fizz, punch and an added advantage of no sugar designed for those seeking the ‘Maximum Kick, No Sugar’ experience!

Pepsi Max has an interesting tagline-Maximum Kick,No Sugar.The tagline sets the positioning straight.Its a sugar free drink with something to give you some kick(and obviously has a great taste).Is Redbull listening ?

I found this recent webrelease of Pepsi Max http://pepsimax.webrelease.in/. It talks about Pepsi Max’s launch in India.

The target group is well defined.25 – 35 yr urban males, who want to live in a world where nothing is held back – where everything is bigger, better and brighter!!

The Pepsi Max drinker is the guy who works hard and plays harder – who believes in getting more out of every moment. He is confident, intense, gutsy, street smart, a full-on kinda guy who revels in his laugh-out-loud experiences with his mates.(Source : http://pepsimax.webrelease.in/)

After closely understanding the TG of Max,it can be safely said the closest competitor of Max is Thums Up.No Doubt !

Thums Up as a brand has a similar positioning,similar TG.What differs in the two brands is the health funda.Sugar Free is something what MAX can boast of and not to forget the Kick element.

So What are they charging ? Is it premium priced product ?

Pepsi Max will be available in an iconic, cool and edgy black packaging comprising of Can and PET Packs. The 250ml Can is priced at an introductory price of Rs 15/-, the 330ml Can is priced at Rs 25/- and the 500ml PET is also priced at Rs 25/-.

So it cant be called premium at all.

Recently during the FIFA world cup,This Pepsi ad was doing rounds which actually was of Pepsi Max.

So will Pepsi Max deliver the Kick  or will it be lost in the end like Messi ?

Time will tell.

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