Archive for the ‘Beverages’ Category

Pepsi Makes a Major Blunder with Gatorade

Thursday, July 23rd, 2009

gatorade

The CEO of Pepsico admitted this week that they made a major mistake with their rebranding of Gatorade.  In just the first quarter of 2009, sales of Gatorade fell by a whopping 13.7% and have continued to plummet.

When the rebranded Gatorade appeared on the shelves, it was a true head-scratcher.  Was this the same old Gatorade?  Was it a new kind of Gatorade?  Or, maybe it wasn’t even Gatorade.  It was near impossible to tell.  It’s amazing to me that, in their desperation to appeal to the “hip” consumers, the marketing people at Pepsi would come up with this horrible design.  It’s maybe even more amazing that the powers that be at Pepsi would sign off on it. 

Gatorade had always been the first name in sports beverages.  And even as they faced much new competition, they were still in the position of being the brand most associated with the sports beverage category.  So, it’s amazing that Pepsi would take their brand and simply flush it down the toilet.  And make no mistake about it, that’s exactly what they did.  From the new look on the bottle to the horrible ad campaigns (what, exactly, was going on in those ads?), they destroyed it.  You would have sworn that their goal was to make choosing and buying a Gatorade the most confusing task in the world.

In the ultra-competitive beverage market, mistakes like this shouldn’t be made.  It shows bad judgement on everyone’s part who had anything to do with it.  Pepsico now has the task of rebuilding the brand in the midst of a sports drink war, and they’ve got no one to blame but themselves.

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Mexican Sugar-Sweetened Coke Garners More Press

Sunday, June 7th, 2009

mexican-coke

The availability of the sugar-sweetened Mexican Coca-Cola is getting more press.  The Consumer Report offshoot, Shop Smart, has a small blurb dedicated to it in its July issue.  Consumer Reports states that in their taste tests, the Coke sweetened with sugar, rather than HFCS, was “slightly sweeter, and some said it has a fuller, rounder, more complex flavor.” 

While Consumer Obsession may not have used the terms “fuller” and “rounder,” we did tell you that it tastes better.  Head on over to the nearest Costco, pick up a case of bottles, and check it out for yourself.

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Will Pepsi Throwback Take You Back To The Golden Era Of Soda?

Sunday, May 17th, 2009

pepsi-throwback1

To great fanfare, Pepsico has rolled out its Pepsi and Mountain Dew Throwback choices, which are sweetened by sugar, rather than High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS).  HFCS has been the predominate sweetener in soft drinks since the early 80′s. 

While many soft drink enthusiasts have lamented the change-over from sugar, there were other changes that had a major effect on how soda tasted and its carbonation.  The mass-market switch to plastic bottles, rather than glass, probably had a more profound effect than the sweetener modification.  The carbonation didn’t “hold” like it did in the capped glass bottles, therefore the switch to plastic made all soda a bit flatter.

Over the years, Coca-Cola has been back in the marketplace with six-packs of their small glass bottles and Pepsi has done small runs of the same.  Some Costco stores have started carrying the Mexican version of coke in bottles, which still contains sugar as its sweetener. 

While using sugar instead of HFCS does make a positive taste difference, it’s rather subtle when being consumed from a plastic bottle.  In a perfect world, the sugar and the glass bottle would be back in place, so we could enjoy these beverages the way they were meant to be enjoyed.

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Diet Root Beer Comparison Part 1

Saturday, April 18th, 2009

The boutique soda market has become a crowded one.  In some of the finer supermarkets, it’s not uncommon to be confronted with at least a half-dozen brand choices.  Some are more common than others, but the choice is there.  There are true soda aficionados out there that find the idea of “diet” soda to be pop heresy.  But the truth is, the diet soda market is huge, as many will not or cannot drink anything else. 

Consumer Obsession did a diet root beer taste test involving three such brands, Boylan’s, Hank’s, and IBC.  And away we go…

boylans-diet-root-beer

The Boylan’s Diet Root Beer was good and out of the three brands tested, fell right in the middle.  The Boylan’s was satisfying, not too overwhelming and not too flat.  It was easily better than mass-market brands like Mug and A&W, though it also had the benefit of being consumed right out of a cold bottle.  Its spices were even and fairly uneventful and its carbonation was average.  The Boylan’s, overall, was a very drinkable root beer.

hanks_diet_root_beer

Philadelphia-based Hank’s Diet Root Beer was a bit of a disappointment.  Compared to the Boylan’s and IBC brands, it was a little drab.  This root beer seemed to be lacking in spice and kick.  The Hank’s Diet Root Beer also seemed a little lacking in the carbonation department.  It wasn’t bad by any means, it just didn’t make much of an impression and was an easy third place in comparison to our other brands.

ibc-diet-root-beer

The IBC brand has really gone beyond the boutique status.  The brand can be found in Wal-Marts and Targets across the country, as well as many restaurant chains.  But maybe there is a reason for the success and demand.  IBC’s Diet Root Beer was excellent and it possessed the qualities we thought were important to a diet root beer: active and tasteful spicing that left a positive aftertaste; carbonation that provided enough of a kick when consumed; and an overall very good root beer flavoring.

There are many other brands to consider for future comparisons.  Consumer Obsession welcomes your suggestions for part two of our diet root beer taste test.

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Coke Is Still The Choice At McDonald’s

Saturday, April 18th, 2009

In February, McDonald’s ended a test-run of selling PepsiCo’s bottled Mountain Dew and Gatorade beverages.  Coca-Cola, which has been the beverage of choice at McDonald’s for five decades, has to see this as a major victory. 

According to Beverage Digest, Coca-Cola controls about 70% of the US fountain drink market, while Pepsi controls approximately 20%.

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The Starbucks Coffee Plight

Sunday, March 22nd, 2009

starbucks-logo1

It’s amazing how companies that seemed to have it all together can completely lose their way.  Last year, Starbucks began trimming stores, staff, and product lines.  And now, with McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts getting their share of the coffee sales, Starbucks is sounding desperate.

Historically, when companies begin to expand like wildfire and getting into product areas outside of their expertise, trouble follows.  When Starbucks announced they were getting into the already dying CD business, it was a sign that the people at corporate had gone awry.  While no figures have been released, it’s a good bet that book and CD sales didn’t do much to boost the bottom line.

Now, with the U.S. economy in the tank and people buying less and less “luxury” drinks, Starbucks is claiming that they, too, can provide value.  They are introducing breakfast meals priced at under $4.oo, as well as loyalty promotions for discounted beverages.  The question will be whether Starbucks can make any of that fly in today’s cash-strapped marketplace.  Their image as a higher-end coffee retailer is firmly entrenched in the marketplace and in many consumer’s minds.  While the spokespeople for Starbucks may be screaming that more than half of all drinks sold cost less than $3.00, for most people, perception is reality.

Starbucks needs to concentrate on its core business.  The question for now is, is it too late.

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Posted in Beverages, Fast Food and Restaurants, Snacks | 2 Comments »

Denny’s Free Breakfast: A Grand Slam

Wednesday, February 4th, 2009

dennys

Denny’s free breakfast offer that took place yesterday, appears to have been a huge hit, not only with diners, but in the public relations arena.  People all over the country waited in line, sometimes for over an hour, and sometimes in freezing conditions, for a free Grand Slam breakfast.  The breakfast is usually on the menu for $5.99.  The lines seemed to highlight the drastic economic conditions in this country.

Denny’s, which has fallen from grace in the restaurant popularity polls, has been in drastic need of a push and this campaign seemed to do the trick.  Not only did it put them back into the public consciousness, it bought them a load of goodwill.  The promotion is said to have cost Denny’s close to $5,000,000, but the restaurant may still do better than break even do to the high mark-up on the beverages that were purchased with the free breakfasts.

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Consumer Obsession Coffee Taste Test

Sunday, February 1st, 2009

                      eight-oclock-coffee

Since the March 2009 issue of Consumer Reports offers a coffee taste test, we at Consumer Obsession thought we’d take a look at some of our favorite (and not so favorite) coffees.

It may be fair to call coffee our favorite national addiction.  It’s unthinkable for many of us not to fuel up on our chosen brew every morning.  It wakes us up.  It keeps us going.  We need it.  But, what actually tastes the best?  Is it the $4.00 cup of Starbucks?  Or, is it the Maxwell House that’s been served in your family for three or more generations? 

Coffee, like anything, is highly subjective.  We all respond to different elements of tastes.  Something that isn’t so subjective is cost.  Most of middle America doesn’t buy a steady supply of Starbucks for their home coffee makers, which is why, aside from Starbucks, Folgers and Maxwell House are America’s best-selling coffees.  Let’s see how those and a few other coffees ranked with the Consumer Obsession crew.

While many in our group admitted to stopping by a Starbucks, most stated they often found themselves ordering a concoction other than straight up coffee and would not call themselves frequent purchasers for home brewing.  A few said they found the Starbucks coffee a bit too strong and not a favored taste.

The standard Folgers (not the “Gourmet” series) coffees actually didn’t do too bad.  While no one proclaimed it a “great” cup of coffee, most thought it to be pleasant enough that they would drink it.  Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said about the Maxwell House coffee.  In comparison to the others, our tasters didn’t seem to think it measured up.  One taster said, “It was bland and seemed less flavorful.”

Up next was the Eight O’clock Coffee, which did very well.  Sampling their standard 100% Columbian, nearly all gave it high marks considering the flavor and price.  At the end of the day, we had to agree with the Consumer Reports piece, which proclaimed Eight O’clock Coffee the winner.

One coffee that Consumer Reports did not mention was the caffeinated version of the Dunkin’ Donuts blend.  This was another coffee that did well in our tastings.  Again, the higher price knocks its overall score down a bit, but for taste, it did well.

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