Most people prefer either Coke or Pepsi, but most people cannot tell the difference. So what is the difference?
Pepsi is sweeter than Coke, so it was better in a “sip test.” Pepsi also has a citrus flavor, Coke has a vanilla flavor. But the Pepsi taste disappears after drinking a few sips and that is another reason Pepsi wins sip tests. Pepsi has more sugar, colories, and caffeine. Coke has more sodium. Most people can’t tell the difference, So why do many people say they prefer Pepsi or Coke? The answer is branding. The Coke brand is more valuable than Pepsi. In2011 Coke had 17% of the market, next came Diet Coke at 9.6%. then Pepsi at 9.2% ans Diet Pepsi at 4.2%
Older Coca-Cola was always the top brand. Coca-Cola’s market share went down compared to Pepsi and the company thought that customers preferred Pepsi’s sweeter taste, which they found from blind tests. So the Coca cola Company changed the formula in 1985 and called it “New Coke.” But, people did not like the new Coke and it was a major marketing failure. The old coke came back in less than three months. The company called it “Coca-Cola Classic.”
Pepsi got more market share in the middle of the century with a series of ad campaigns. In195 the first Pepsi Challenge found that people preferred Pepsi in a blind taste test. The brand was also marketed as the soda of the new generation, with celebrity Michael Jackson in the ads.