The Wall Street Journal jumps on the bandwagon of critics who seem to believe that the introduction of mid-calorie drinks C2 and Pepsi Edge by the Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo was misguided at best.
Coke has come in for the greatest criticism from analysts because, the WSJ reports, “sales of C2, after peaking in late June and early July, a few weeks after the product's introduction, have fallen by nearly 60% in U.S. supermarkets.”
And the WSJ writes, “PepsiCo Inc.'s rival product, Pepsi Edge, hasn't fared better. It holds a 0.3% market share in supermarkets, although its sales have remained steady. But PepsiCo has a lot less riding on Pepsi Edge, largely because of the strength of its noncarbonated drinks such as Gatorade and its giant snack-food business.”
While, as reported earlier this week on MNB, Coke is reducing its prices on C2, company CEO E. Neville Isdell has been put in the position of having to defend the product’s launch, saying that he hopes it will eventually generate the same sales of a niche brand like Cherry Coke.
Coke has come in for the greatest criticism from analysts because, the WSJ reports, “sales of C2, after peaking in late June and early July, a few weeks after the product's introduction, have fallen by nearly 60% in U.S. supermarkets.”
And the WSJ writes, “PepsiCo Inc.'s rival product, Pepsi Edge, hasn't fared better. It holds a 0.3% market share in supermarkets, although its sales have remained steady. But PepsiCo has a lot less riding on Pepsi Edge, largely because of the strength of its noncarbonated drinks such as Gatorade and its giant snack-food business.”
While, as reported earlier this week on MNB, Coke is reducing its prices on C2, company CEO E. Neville Isdell has been put in the position of having to defend the product’s launch, saying that he hopes it will eventually generate the same sales of a niche brand like Cherry Coke.
- KC's View:
-
Isdell’s endorsement of C2 sort of sounds like how George Steinbrenner used to give Billy Martin a vote of confidence when he was having trouble managing the Yankees.
Or maybe like the one that Steinbrenner will give Joe Torre tomorrow…
