Coke And Pepsi In India

THE COKE & PEPSI RIVALRY

Do

No

tC

op

y

MKTG - 002

This case was written by A. Mukund, ICFAI Center for Management Research (ICMR). It is intended to be used as a
basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a management situation.
The case was compiled from published sources.
 2003, ICFAI Center for Management Research.All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic or mechanical, without
permission.
To order copies, call 0091-40-5525-0071 or write to ICFAI Center for Management Research, Plot # 49, Nagarjuna Hills,
Hyderabad 500 082, India or email icmr@icfai.org. Website:www.icmrindia.org

MKTG/002

THE COKE & PEPSI RIVALRY
Our real competition is water, tea, nimbupani and Pepsi... in that order.”
- Coke sources in 1996.

op

y

“When you’re No 2 and you’re struggling, you have to be more innovative, work better, and be
more resilient. If we became No 1, we would redefine the market so we became No 2! The fact is
that our competition with the Coca-Colacompany is the single most important reason we’ve
accomplished what we have. And if they were honest, they would say the same thing.”
- Pepsi sources in 1998.

PEPSI VS. COKE

tC

“Both companies did not really concentrate on the fundamentals of marketing like building strong
brand equity in the market, and thus had to resort to such tactics to garner market shares.”
- Business India in1998.

No

The cola wars had become a part of global folklore - something all of us took for granted.
However, for the companies involved, it was a matter of ‘fight or succumb.’ Both print and
electronic media served as battlefields, with the most bitter of the cola wars often seen in form of
the comparative advertisements.

Do

In the early 1970s, the US soft-drinks market was on theverge of maturity, and as the major
players, Coke and Pepsi offered products that ‘looked the same and tasted the same,’ substantial
market share growth seemed unlikely. However, Coke and Pepsi kept rejuvenating the market
through product modifications and pricing/promotion/distribution tactics. As the competition was
intense, the companies had to frequently implement strategic changes in order togain competitive
advantage. The only way to do this, apart from introducing cosmetic product innovations, was to
fight it out in the marketplace.
This modus operandi was followed in the Indian markets as well with Coke and Pepsi resorting to
more innovative tactics to generate consumer interest. In essence, the companies were trying to
increase the whole market pie, as the market-shares warseemed to get nowhere. This was because
both the companies came out with contradictory market share figures as per surveys conducted by
their respective agencies - ORG (Coke) and IMRB (Pepsi). For instance, in August 2000, Pepsi
claimed to have increased its market share for the first five months of calendar year 2000 to 49%
from 47.3%, while Coke claimed to have increased its share in themarket to 57%, in the same
period, from 55%.
This case was written by A. Mukund, ICFAI Center for Management Research (ICMR).
 2003, ICFAI Center for Management Research. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a

retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic or mechanical, without
permission.

To ordercopies, call 0091-40-5525-0071 or write to ICFAI Center for Management Research, Plot # 49, Nagarjuna Hills,
Hyderabad 500 082, India or email icmr@icfai.org. Website: www.icmrindia.org

The Coke & Pepsi Rivalry

Media reports claimed that the rivalry between Coke and Pepsi had ceased to generate sustained
public interest, as it used to in the initial years of the cola brawls worldwide....