Lorenzo Biscontin
A couple of weeks ago, the article “The cola war” published in the online Italian newspaper “il Post” caught my attention.
What struck me most was discovering that in 2023 Dr. Pepper became the second best-selling soda brand in the US, surpassing Pepsi Cola. This seems to be due to Dr. Pepper’s success among Gen Z consumers. Below is an excerpt from the article.
“In one of the most recent developments in the cola wars, news that the second best-selling soft drink in the country in 2023 was not Pepsi, but Dr Pepper, the main drink of another historic competitor of Coca-Cola, made some waves in the United States in June. For the previous four decades, Pepsi occupied the second position almost continuously behind Coca-Cola, which in 2023 occupied 19.18 percent of the sales market, against 8.34 for Dr Pepper and 8.31 for Pepsi.
But in the overtaking of Dr Pepper in sales, according to several analysts, a certain recent success among people of Generation Z (the one ranging from teenagers to thirty-year-olds), attracted by the less common taste of Dr Pepper, which lately have been used as the base of certain popular concoctions on TikTok, adding pickles or other ingredients, may have played a role.
“There’s never been a better time for unusual-tasting beverages,” wrote Vox, noting that both Coke and Pepsi have slightly lower market share than they did in 2020. Beverage Digest editor Duane Stanford, describing the amount and variety of beverages available on the market today as “mind-boggling,” told Vox that Dr Pepper’s recent popularity among young consumers may be due to its niche relative to Coke and Pepsi.”
I’m not a big fan of monolithic views of consumer behavior based on demographics, but this is surprising because we’re talking about a market dominated by brands built with over a century of marketing strategies and advertising campaigns.
From the wine industry’s perspective, it’s interesting not only the role of Tik Tok, which has proven disruptive on other occasions, but also that of consumers in using Dr Pepper to create the most unexpected pairings / concoctions.
This indicates several things:
– In the digital age, relationships between consumers and brands are free and de-hierarchical, as defined already in 2014 by (my) total marketing approach.
– For a brand to become truly viral, it must leave its consumers the freedom to interact with it as they wish. The more they do so, the more they demonstrate involvement with the brand.
– The importance of taste / flavor and the openness / search for new and different flavors by younger consumers.
– Trends born from the young segments of the market can also extend to the others, the opposite is much more difficult (see the case of rosé wine in the USA a few years ago).
Also interesting is the emphasis on the “astonishing” quantity of drinks available on the market today because they increase the competition to maintain the so-called “share of throat” of consumers. It is true that the substitution between alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages is weak, but the increase in options increases the competition anyway.
I understand that adding pickles to Dr. Pepper or mixing it with cream cheese, coconut milk, etc. may make many over 40s goosebumps, but on April 9th, a video was posted on Tik Tok showing the preparation Dr. Pepper wine.
Here are the stats to date:
– 33.7 million views
– 2.6 million likes
– 220,843 saves
– 230,062 shares
I would think twice before shrugging my shoulders.
