PepsiCo India, which aims to double its Tropicana juice business in India by 2020, is looking to ramp up the distribution of the brand with a strategic focus on smaller towns and rural regions. The company has also roped in Katrina Kaif as the brand ambassador for Tropicana as part of its refreshed brand positioning strategy to woo young consumers.

Deepika Warrier, Vice-President-Nutrition Category, PepsiCo India, said: “Tropicana is one of the fastest-growing brands in our beverages portfolio. Due to growing per capita consumption of juices in India, the overall juices segment is also witnessing high growth rates. So we felt the time is right to expand the distribution of the brand in the country.”

The company intends to grow Tropicana’s distribution reach from the existing 1 lakh outlets to about 2.5 lakh outlets by the end of the year.

Earlier this year , the company had inked a strategic partnership with its bottling partner Varun Beverages Ltd (VBL) to sell and distribute the Tropicana range in North and East India. Sales from the northern and eastern region account for nearly 80 per cent of the overall sales of the juice market in India.

“This strategic distribution alliance with VBL will help us to more than double the distribution of the brand in the North and East region with a strong focus on smaller towns and rural region. This will also enable the brand to get access to our chilling infrastructure that has already been set up for our carbonated beverages. In the other regions – south and west – we will ride on our existing go-to-market system to expand the brands’ direct distribution,” she added.

This strategy is expected to grow the contribution of non-metro and rural regions to Tropicana’s overall sales in the next few years. The company is targeting a high double-digit growth for its juices portfolio this summer.

As part of the new youth-focused positioning, the company has roped in Katrina Kaif as the brand ambassador for Tropicana, who will feature in the brand’s new ‘My Health My Way’ campaign. She will also be the face of Tropicana Essentials Iron. “In the past 12 months we have done a lot of research to gain consumer insights. We felt there was a need to refresh the positioning of Tropicana to make the brand more relatable to young consumers who are seeking healthier lifestyles,” said Warrier.

Meanwhile, the company also plans to launch two new variants to expand its functional nutrition beverages portfolio under brand Tropicana Essentials later this year.

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