Beverage Market Case

. What are the strategically relevant components of the global and U.S. beverage industry macro-environment?

How do the economic characteristics of the alternative beverage segment of the industry differ from that of

other beverage categories? Explain.

2. What is competition like in the alternative beverage industry? Which of the fi ve competitive forces

is strongest? Which is weakest? What competitive forces seem to have the greatest effect on industry

attractiveness and the potential profi tability of new entrants?

3. How is the market for energy drinks, sports drinks and vitamin-enhanced beverages changing? What are

the underlying drivers of change and how might those forces individually or collectively make the industry

more or less attractive?

4. What does your strategic group map of the energy drink, sports drink, and vitamin-enhanced beverage

industry look like? Which strategic groups do you think are in the best positions? The worst positions?

5. What key factors determine the success of alternative beverage producers?

6. What recommendations would you make to Coca-Cola to improve its competitiveness in the global

alternative beverage industry? to PepsiCo? to Red Bull GmbH?

• Sales of sports drinks declined by 12.3 percent between 2008 and 2009, and sales of fla- vored and vitamin-enhanced waters had declined by 12.5 percent over the same period. The sales of energy drinks fared better, but 2009 segment sales exceeded sales in 2008 by only 0.2 percent.

• For example, PepsiCo had expanded its lineup of Amp Energy drinks to 12 flavors, expanded SoBe vitamin-enhanced beverages to 28 flavors and variations, and increased the Gatorade lineup to include dozens of flavors and variations.