Pepsi Shift for new year

[RunWithDaLilGuy]

Pepsi, in Michigan, is getting rid of the 8pack-20oz and replacing it with the 6pack 24oz. the consumer loses 16 ounces on the deal.

this is to make the 20oz a single serve package and to prevent stores from buying it en masse on the cheap. they, unlike coke, are also dropping the price of 20oz cases down to 14.00 a case from 16.75 a case. coke is still at 16.75 a case PLUS deposit.

happy new year, *******s.

[fusion]

I always thought any 20oz multipack was a bad idea, for that very reason. The 20oz is the single serve package.. So why sell it in bulk, so smaller stores can circumvent your distribution system and get it cheaper at the grocery store? Never made good business sense to me.

[Shatter]

Pepsi in north Texas has always sold 24 oz. 6-packs. Coke has always sold 16.9 oz. 6-packs. Coke's 16.9 oz. bottles don't have bar codes on them so people won't break up the 6-packs and try to sell them individually. I believe Pepsi's bottles have labels on them something to the same effect. It keeps little c-store owners from buying the 6-packs on sale at our store for $2.00 and selling the bottles for $1.09 each. Even though i'm sure some c-stores try to do it anyway.

[SURGE]

Alot of small stores will sell the 16.9 oz or 24oz bottles most likely from multipacks as single serve. but they dont usually fit in the cooler quite right.

[RunWithDaLilGuy]

i've talked with several store owners. unless the companies reduce the cost of the single serve product here (on average, 16.75-18.50 a case, plus depost (2.40)), they will continue to sell these "not to be sold invidually" sixpacks. some stores sell 20oz for $1.25 plus deposit, it's insane. the costs of single serve have gone up tremendously.

everyone here says that it just doesn't pan out the way you'd think. it's better to lose money from some c-stores than have to reset shelves, have two new sizes of shells and lose sales at larger grocery stores. no one buys the six pack half liters.

in addition, rumors abound that american here will be switching from canada dry to schweppes. pepsi will get canada dry and coke (who had schweppes) will get seagram's. i don't know why but eh, whatever. also, ABC will get dr pepper in mid 2003 i believe from coke and a year later, will get the rights to squirt. this is all in detroit.

[fusion]

With immediate consumption (single serve, mostly) products, you can raise the price and not lose a lot of sales, unless the competitor has a lower retail. 20oz just don't go on sale at 7-11, unless it's an introduction of a new product.. Then just that item will be at a lower retail.

24oz, 16oz, 20oz plastic Pepsi all fit in the same shells. The bases of the bottles are identical, it's just the height that is different. Half liter, on the other hand, requires a smaller shell.

Based on many of the shelf sets I have seen in stores, they could handle a switch from a shorter bottle to a taller bottle with no problem. Here in Maryland, we are about to go from 16.9oz to 24oz, but most of the shelves can already handle the change without modifying the height. I think more adjustments will really be need to be made when the fridge packs arrive this summer.

It really suprises me that a Coke bottler would give up a Dr Pepper franchise, since Pibb can't even come close to competing with Pepper. Unless you're in a weak Pepper area.

The Seagram's switch makes sense, since Coke now owns the rights to the Seagram's name for use with the Ginger Ales and the mixers. But I have pretty much always seen Canada Dry aligned with the big DPSU bottler (except in New England, it's CCE). Schweppes is almost always with Pepsi, though I have seen it with Coke in Florida, but I suspect that will change if it already hasn't.

I think Canada Dry is the best of the three, followed by Seagram's and Schweppes. I just don't care for Schweppes.

[Terry K]

Originally posted by fusion:


It really suprises me that a Coke bottler would give up a Dr Pepper franchise, since Pibb can't even come close to competing with Pepper. Unless you're in a weak Pepper area.

Actually, there's an area around Albany NY where this happened, DP shifted from Coke to Pepsi in the last few months. No one can explain it, but Coke hasn't unleashed Pibb Xtra(bad) on the market there yet.

[SURGE]

Seems sorta folish to me for Pepsi to get any DPSU assets these days. After what they have done with 7UP isnt it fair to think that DP will be next? From what I have seen Coke does a better job pushing DP in its areas than Pepsi does.

[ 01-02-2003, 10:12 PM: Message edited by: SURGE ]

[fusion]

I agree, Avery. To Philadelphia Coke, Dr Pepper was like breathing air. A vital part of the business, almost 10% of their sales. It's always part of any sales that Coke has, but Pepsi can never seem to get it so they have Dr Pepper on sale with the rest of their line at the same time.

[RunWithDaLilGuy 2.0]

I would like it if some of these manus put out 4 oz version of their bevies. Sometimes I just want a snifter of soda, not a goddamn jereboam.