The Gatorade Company Inc. is an American sports-themed beverage and food products manufactured which was first introduced in the market in 1965 and till date it is available in 80 countries. It is manufactured under the brand name of PepsiCo. Gatorade products are manufactured around the idea of their signature sports line of food products. The Gatorade drink is specifically very famous around the world and a consumer associate with athletes or sports activity which is the evidence of the fact that Gatorade has been successful in placing their product in the consumer’s mind as they wanted it to be placed.
With so many competitors in the market nowadays, Gatorade has the competitive advantage of being one of its kinds in the industry, which is the reason why it got so much attention when it was first introduced. Many competitors then followed the same formula to enter the market and compete with Gatorade. Their competitive advantage is their brand name which they have developed over the years by expanding into so many markets and gaining their fair share of profits. They hold most of the market shares of the sports drink industry in all these countries.
They have been associating their brands with sports personalities since the time their brand was introduced in the international market. Associating themselves with best athletes of the baseball teams and other famous sports in America got them all the attention they wanted. They have been associated with NFL teams for a very long time now and they have developed long-term relationships with these teams which the competitors can never break. Over the years, many athletes have represented Gatorade and this adds to their competitive advantage and has helped them place their product in the consumer’s minds just the way they wanted.
Another factor that adds to their competitive advantage is the fact that they keep on improving their products every year. They come up with a different marketing campaign and an improved bottle design and sometimes even with a slight change in the campaign logo and a different extended product portfolio which makes the consumers even more interested in knowing about their products and keeps them involved with the brand. This strategy is not followed by all the major competition in most of the markets that they distribute in, which makes Gatorade stand out in so much competition around the world.
Gatorade has taken many years to correctly place their product in the consumer’s mind and develop a very strong brand image all around the world which makes them stand out as compared to their competitors. With Gatorade expanding its distribution in other countries and gaining more market share with each passing year, it is also ranked at #86 in the list of Most Powerful Brands in the World in the Forbes list released in 2017.
References
10 Thirst-Quenching Facts About Gatorade. (2016, April 6). Retrieved January 21, 2018, from http://mentalfloss.com/article/69411/10-thirst-quenching-facts-about-gatorade
Gatorade on the Forbes World’s Most Powerful Brands List. Retrieved January 21, 2018, from https://www.forbes.com/companies/gatorade/
Terriberry, M. (1970, January 1). PepsiCo – Gatorade. Retrieved January 21, 2018, from http://terriberrynyc.blogspot.com/2014/02/ch-2-strategic-planning-for-competitive.html