Why PepsiCo’s Gatorade is now a portfolio of brands with Muscle Milk, Propel, and more

For most of the past decade, PepsiCo’s ambition for Gatorade has been to go far beyond its sports drink origins.

Click here to read the story at fastcompany.com.

Discussion Questions:

1. What is a brand?
2. What is brand extension?
3. How might this story illustrate the concept of brand extension?
4. What are some examples of brands owned by PepsiCo?
5. What is a marketing plan?
6. Why are marketing plans important to a business like PepsiCo?
7. Why do you think PepsiCo is bringing brands like Muscle Milk and Propel under the Gatorade umbrella?
8. Why do you think it decided to communicate those plans to consumers during the Super Bowl?
9. What is consumer behavior?
10. What has PepsiCo learned about consumer behavior as it relates to consumption of protein drinks (and other supplement drinks) and sports drinks, based on information from this news story?
11. How might that information have influenced its marketing decisions?
12. What is competition?
13. What is market share?
14. How does market share help to paint a picture of the competitive landscape in any given industry?
15. According to this story, how much market share does Gatorade have in the sports drink market?
16. Coca-Cola is aggressively pursuing more market share with its BodyArmor and Powerade brands. How much do you think Coca-Cola’s intensified efforts to gain market share might have influenced PepsiCo’s decision to bring its other sports performance brands under the Gatorade umbrella?