The Carbonated Soft Drink Industry

c. Number of Competitors: Both the global and U.S. bottled water markets had become dominated by a few international food and beverage producers like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestlé, and Groupe Danone, but they also included many small regional sellers that were required to

The existing concentrate business is largely controlled by Coca-Cola Company (Coca-Cola) and PepsiCo (Pepsi), together claiming a combined 72% of the U.S. carbonated soft drink (CSD) market sales volume in 2009. Refer to Exhibit 1 for an illustration of the CSD industry value chain. For more than a century, Coca-Cola and Pepsi have maintained growth and large market shares through mastering five competitive forces, shown in Exhibit 2, that drive profitability and shape the industry structure.

Knowing this data, and having information about competitors market share, simple calculations showed the market share in gallons for each competitor, keeping in mind that the Bud Light brand and Budweiser brand were grouped together under the Budweiser Co. This is the same for Miller and Miller Light. Budweiser Co. had the largest market share at 34.8% followed by Miller Co. at 20.6%. Busch was below our expected market share at 6.4%, meaning Coors is in a similar position as Busch. This information is shown in Exhibit 3.

The American ginger beer market is comprised of both domestic brands and imports bottled and sold by American conglomerates which are direct competitors of The Coca-Cola Company, such as PepsiCo. While ginger beer is considered to be a niche product within the overall American beer market, there does exist a wide supply of various products and brands which Stoney Ginger Beer will be forced to compete against. These brands include Barritt's Bermuda Stone Ginger Beer, D&G Spicy Jamaican Ginger Beer, Reed's "Extra" Ginger Brew, Maine Root Ginger Brew, Buderim Authentic Australian Ginger Brew, and A.J. Stephan Jamaican Style. As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle in 2009, ginger beer "has become more readily available as of late" within the U.S and "at least six brands of ginger beer can be found in the Bay Area" (English, 2009) of California alone. Each of these potential competitors utilizes a derivative of the classically known ginger beer recipe, but infuses their product with a unique selling point such as organic ingredients, increased ginger content and purity, and the beer's national or cultural origins. Barritt's Bermuda Stone Ginger Beer, for example, boasts that it's product "is the most popular ginger beer in the Bahamas and the US Virgin Islands and is widely available in both countries," touting its traditional Bahamian heritage while making sure to add that the beer "is available in the United States in 12oz cans and 12oz glass bottles in

Poter 's Five Competitive Forces Analysis for Concentrate Producers, Bottlers, and Retailers in the Soft Drink Industry

Draw upon market data which is available, to support your conclusions on “Market Structure” with in this industry sector.

The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is a great place for business. It is home to multiple companies and their corporate headquarters – and with an international airport, open trade routes, multiple universities and academic institutions – it proves to be the perfect location for businesses and professionals alike. One such company that is headquartered in Plano, TX, and is an example of a thriving organization in the area, is the Dr Pepper Snapple Group. A mostly domestic company, with most of its business located in North American and Mexico, the DPS Group is a manufacturer of nonalcoholic beverages in the beverage industry and is third in overall market share (after Coca-Cola and Pepsico). The beverage industry is steady and growing, but the nonalcoholic beverage portion of the industry is facing many challenges with carbonated soft drinks declining in sales due to a more health-conscious population. Analyzing the DPS Group and how they are dealing with these challenges was very interesting, as I have always been a Dr Pepper fan and would hate to see them go out of business or die out in the market. I have known people who have worked for the company and loved it, and I hope to work for them someday as well. I collected my research on the company through their website, articles and journals, and my own knowledge of the company and research into the company history through a visit to the Dr Pepper museum.

Retailers. The current trend, further than the wine market, is clearly the concentration of the “off-premises” retailers. The well known Wal-Mart and others became very large retailers, concentrating as well high bargaining leverage. For example, Costco is currently the largest wine retailer in the U.S.

Budweiser and Bud Light are the No.1 and No. 2 best-selling beers in the world. Miller, their closest rival maintains 22.1% of the market share. The following chart illustrates market share in 1999 for the nation’s leading breweries.

The soft drink industry in the United States is a highly profitably, but competitive market. In 2000 alone, consumers on average drank 53 gallons of soft drinks per person a year. There are three major companies that hold the majority of sales in the carbonated soft drink industry in the United States. They are the Coca Cola Company with 44.1% market share, followed by The Pepsi-Cola Company with 31.4% market share, and Dr. Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. with 14.7% market share. Each company respectively has numerous brands that it sales. These top brands account for almost 73% of soft drink sales in the United States. Dr. Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. owns two of the top ten

Defining the industry: Both concentrate producers (CP) and bottlers are profitable. These two parts of the

Dr. Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. is the company which produces the brand Squirt. “Squirt is a caffeine-free, low sodium carbonated soft drink brand with a distinctive blend of grapefruit juices that gives it a tangy, fresh citrus taste. Squirt is the best selling carbonated grapefruit soft drink brand in the U.S.” (Kerin and Peterson, 2010) Kate Cox, the brand manager responsible for Squirt believes that market targeting and product positioning are key elements in Squirt’s advertising and promotional plan development. This case study will provide a summary and analysis of Dr. Pepper/Seven Up, Inc.’s options and the examination into the company’s strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities.

There are more than 900 registered brand names in the US. The top 10 brands are marketed by the 3 leading US soft drinks companies which are Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Dr. Pepper/7up. The cola flavor is the most popular of carbonated soft drinks in the US with 65.7% of the market share. The orange flavor comes in 3rd with only 3.9% of the market share. As far as market segments are concerned there are only two segments; the regular carbonated soft drink and the diet carbonated soft drink (Kerin & Peterson, 2007).

There are ten different markets in U.S. They are Florida, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Georgia, Texas, California, Illinois, and Oregon.

The case explains the economics of the soft drink industry. There activities that add value to consumer at nearly every stage of the value chain of the soft drink industry. The war is primarily fought between Coca-Cola and PepsiCo as market leaders in this industry; who combined have roughly a ninety percent market share in their industry. The impact of globalization on competition has allowed both of these major players to find new markets to tap which has allowed each continued growth potential.