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Pepsi has recently unveiled Pepsi True, a new, healthier Pepsi drink that will be launched mid-October exclusively through Amazon in the US. When I first read about Pepsi’s new green cola, it immediately made me think of Coca-Cola’s new green cola, Coke Life, which debuted in Argentina in June 2013, in Chile in November 2013, and recently in Britain, USA, Mexico and Sweden as of August 2014. I was surprised to learn that there are many similarities between these competing products including the same label green color, as well as a common ingredient, stevia, a plant used as a sweetener. With all these similarities I was very skeptical of Pepsi’s success. As we’ve learned from Al Ries and Jack Trout, positioning is an important communication tool for reaching target customers in a crowded marketplace. What’s more, the key to getting into the mind of the consumer is to be the first to implement a new idea. Coca-Cola was the first to introduce a green, low-calorie cola to the market, and as in my case, is the first product I think of when it comes to ‘green’ colas. After a bit of research I discovered that these low-calorie product launches follow an industry-wide effort by Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group and the American Beverage Association to reduce beverage calories and fight obesity. Therefore, even though Coca-Cola and Pepsi are working towards the same goal of producing low-calorie drinks, I still believe Coca-Cola, being the first to launch its healthier drink Coke Life, has an advantage over the other soda companies.
Source: http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/article/1315301/cola-wars-back-pepsi-takes-aim-coke-copycat-stevia-product-pepsi-true