The COMM 101 class was introduced to Sauder alumni Jennifer Martin who founded SIP Soda, healthy alternative to regular soft drinks. I feel that this is a really smart idea because it capitalizes on the current soft drink company’s struggling sales in the Canadian market, and the obesity epidemic. For three years, I lived in the Philippines, where the locals drank Coca-Cola with every meal. Thus, I found it interesting how Vancouver has a lot more heath options in terms of food. Everywhere I went, I would see “Gluten-free” this and “Sugar free” that. This shows that there is a market for this, as it part of an ongoing transformative change in Vancouver at the moment.

One area where SIP Soda stood out to me is in its use of packaging. The use of large capitalized letters on a white background stands out to customers because it is a simple and clean appearance. Furthermore, using non-leaching glass bottles reflects the company’s value proposition of being environmentally sustainable – and this effectively adds a new customer segment (environmentally conscious people). Glass packaging also differentiates itself from most other soda companies that use metal cans or plastic bottles as packaging. Glass is often associated with quality – and this only improves customer’s perception of the product.

SIP Soda (image from  company website)

However, I do feel that the zig-zag visual design on the bottle does not appeal that much to consumers. While the matching of colors to the flavors is visually intriguing, I feel overall that it is confusing and unrepresentative. I personally think images of the herbs would be more ideal.