By George Anderson
Sales of Vanilla Coke are down from the brand's introductory highs and, while not necessarily positive news for the long haul, it does provide a lesson that manufacturers can use to build incremental gains in the short-term.
John Sicher, editor and publisher of Beverage Digest, told the Atlanta Journal Constitution, "It's turning out that the carbonated line extensions, even the big ones like Vanilla Coke and Mountain Dew Code Red, are not proving to be sources of sustainable, year-on-year growth. They will likely level off at lower levels than their first, full-year peaks, and become modest entries in the companies' brand portfolios."
Moderator's Comment: Does the short-term boost provided by beverage line extensions suggest company's should adopt an in-and-out marketing approach to these items or should they essentially scrap extensions to focus on core brands?
The Journal Constitution's report suggested the experience of Pepsi's rollouts have been similar to Coke's.
Pepsi spokesman Larry Jabbonsky defined the dilemma. "We're committed to innovation. It's the key to ongoing growth. But we've got to strike the right balance to keep our core, base businesses vibrant." [George Anderson - Moderator]