Collaborating With Change | A PepsiCo India View
A household name now, PepsiCo has, throughout the years, kept a keen eye on every consumer trend and brought to us products in line with what consumers wanted. From keeping up with the Indian snacking needs with a delectable product line of Lays, Doritos, Pepsi and Mirinda, to catering to a more health-conscious population, with their iconic Tropicana juices, quaker oats and diet Pepsi, among others, the brand has penetrated the lives of millions of us and been associated with some of our fondest memories.
Despite its robust distribution channel and deep association with the Indian market, the COVID-19 pandemic managed to disrupt the consumer consumption patterns, leading to the company and its brands changing its focus to cater to the ‘new’ customer behavior in the ‘new’ reality. The times that we live in, are called the ‘new normal’ and in this ‘new normal’, the leaders at PepsiCo, have re-strategized their communication and targeting ways to keep up with the times. Intending to invest nearly $2.1 billion in India, till 2022, the thought leaders at PepsiCo are closely connecting each brand with the following principles: Being People-Centric, Being Consumer-Centric, Being Community Stewards, Being Agile, and Being Prudent.
Higher demand for family-sized packs, more inclination towards convenient ways of purchasing, without having to step out, added emphasis on healthier alternatives, aversion to risky prospects, more dependency on mobile phones, and higher engagement with the online media are some of the key consumer behavioral changes that have been identified.
Ways in which PepsiCo India is tackling the paradigm shift due to Covid-19:
- Hyper-Local Delivery:
- Higher investment in emerging distribution channels for B2B & B2C businesses by extensively partnering with Swiggy, Dunzo, BigBasket, Grofers, Amazon, etc. Following the EB2B model, the company encouraged the participation of various small and medium-sized businesses in its distribution channel to keep up with the demand even when most of the country was under strict lockdowns.
- One/ two hour(s) expedited delivery through Dunzo and Swiggy were also introduced.
- The company even made its products easily available on the CSC’s Grameen E-store to cater to the last mile demand in rural India.
- Aquafina tied up with OwO to expand into the ‘At-home’ consumption of packaged drinking water.
2. Consumer First Approach: Adapting to the customer requirements, the company launched a new 1.25 litres PET pack in their portfolio at a reasonable price of 50 rupees. Along with this, various bundle pricing schemes with combo packs were also distributed.
3. Better today and tomorrow:
a. PepsiCo’s digital campaign focused on inspiring the world on the importance of following the Indian way of contactless greeting, namely, ‘Salaam Namaste’ to increase awareness, goes a long way to show how committed the company is towards a better tomorrow. The campaign has been stated to have broken all previous records, in terms of popularity and reach.
b. Lay’s #HeartWork campaign thanked the unsung heroes of the pandemic over Twitter and Instagram. They reached out to various other brands like Flipkart, Tide, Vistara, Kia, and Cadbury to carry the gesture forward through customized virtual pack advertisements.
c. The brand partnered with Smile Foundation to provide hygiene kits of sanitizers, and masks to support over 40000 families of these unsung heroes.
d. The #GiveMealsGiveHope global program ran at its full pace to help provide over 10 million meals to the marginalized families impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The NGOs in this partnership were Akshay Patra, Smile Foundation, & CII Foundation.
e. #PepsiSaveOurRestuarants was a unique partnership with NRAI and Swiggy where it championed to provide help in kind to now unemployed restaurant workers with every meal that we ordered from their platform. This brought the responsibility right on the consumer, which helped popularize the campaign.
The company continues to extend its support to the marginalized communities and the healthcare sector. The successfully marketed digital campaigns are not only helping the brand stay in the hearts of Indians, but also providing much-needed awareness in social issues. Not only that, but PepsiCo also continues to provide support to its employees by training and guiding them through the testing times. For its employees, they now always have a doctor on call, Covid-19 insurance backup, and mental health initiatives with one-on-one professional counseling and online fitness sessions. Even though the company has reportedly seen a double-digit decline in its revenue in India amid the health crisis, the company is actively engaged in listening to customer needs and is extremely hopeful for the future.
Marketing Strategies in focus:
The company identified 3 core areas to strategize on: 1) Hope 2) Trust and 3) Fun
Being mindful of consumer wants, establishing trust and in the end, having fun in the process, are the three major pillars it stands on. Innovation in products and leveraging digital marketing with exemplar content are other ways the brand is staying relevant. PepsiCo’s new marketing campaign, with slogans like ‘Kurkure khao, Free data pao’ and ‘Lays khulega, data milega’ where one gets Airtel internet data free with their SKU’s is an exemplar example of how the company is keeping with the times.
The company also employs various ‘social listeners’ who are constantly aware of the day to day needs of celebrities and high-end influencers. For example, when Sonam Kapoor asked for where she could get Uncle Chips in Delhi, a basket full of these chips was delivered to her home by the company. It takes a lot to be the market leaders for as long as PepsiCo has. It comes with a unique blend of resilience, innovation, and thoughtfulness. The company has a legacy that it lives with and one that it has to carry forward. Here’s to many more joyful years with Pepsi!
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Author: Ritwika Chakraborty
Editorial Team, NjM
Class of 2022, NMIMS Mumbai
