Forbes reports that PepsiCo is facing something of a marketing dilemma these days.
On the one hand, it has made billions of dollars selling snacks and soft drinks -- sometimes known as “junk food” -- to Americans and citizens of the world. On the other, because so much attention is being paid to the problem of obesity, the company has to cope with implications, “repositioning itself, trying to strike a healthier pose, rejiggering its product mix with snacks and beverages that are lower in fat and sodium and higher in good stuff, like calcium, part of what it optimistically calls ‘good for you’ foods.”
But management doesn’t want to “cave,” according to Forbes, because to do so might undermine the core business on which Pepsi last year earned an estimated $3.5 billion on revenues of $25 billion.
On the one hand, it has made billions of dollars selling snacks and soft drinks -- sometimes known as “junk food” -- to Americans and citizens of the world. On the other, because so much attention is being paid to the problem of obesity, the company has to cope with implications, “repositioning itself, trying to strike a healthier pose, rejiggering its product mix with snacks and beverages that are lower in fat and sodium and higher in good stuff, like calcium, part of what it optimistically calls ‘good for you’ foods.”
But management doesn’t want to “cave,” according to Forbes, because to do so might undermine the core business on which Pepsi last year earned an estimated $3.5 billion on revenues of $25 billion.
- KC's View:
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We know it is more complicated than this, but somehow thinking of the current consumer health concerns as requiring a company to “cave” seems counterproductive.
People change, cultures change, trends change, and a company’s responses to these changes must, themselves, change. That doesn’t strike us as a negative, but rather as a reflection of strength of resolve, commitment to the consumer, and the ability to be in touch with the right sorts of priorities.
Just this week, there have been several studies released about the ways in which obesity affects life expectancy, beyond the other, more tradition problems of heart disease, diabetes and even certain forms of cancer.
These are tough reports to ignore. They, along with the myriad other studies that have come out over the years as well as the obesity lawsuits that put everyone on notice that they may be held accountable, are like an insistent, sometimes annoying alarm bell.
