Re-launching Pop Shoppe in Canada
Pop Shoppe used to be a popular and unique soda brand in the 1970s in Canada and the USA, but due to the fierce competition, launch of the new private-label soda brands and changing buying habits, Pop Shoppe had to leave the market. 20 years later an entrepreneur Brian Alger decided to revive the brand and as the first step he registered the new Pop Shoppe trademark. After that he conducted the market research and learnt that CSD industry was extremely competitive. PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group and Cott Corporation were the strongest companies in the market and there were some smaller private-label brands. Standard grocery stores and mass merchandisers were the main distribution channels and asked high fees for the right to sell. Therefore, entering the market would be extremely difficult for the Pop Shoppe brand.
What could the solution be?
Since the Pop Shoppe is not actually a new brand, Brian Alger should develop a cost effective marketing strategy based on some features of the old version of Pop Shoppe. Firstly, Pop Shoppe was sold in the small stores. When thinking about the distribution channels, Alger should not focus on the large grocery stores. Instead, there are many smaller points of sale that perfectly match the Pop Shoppe’s image. Secondly, Alger got in touch with the bottling companies that can help him produce Pop Shoppe in the glass bottles. Following the strategy of Stewart’s Fountain Classics, Pop Shoppe should also be positioned as an old-fashioned brand. Thirdly, in order to cut the initial costs for bottling and reach the target audience, Alger should focus on selling the Pop Shoppe syrup to the restaurants, hotels and other places where the older people spend their time. Finally, Alger should not enter the national market at the very start. Instead he should try launching his brand at the regional level. Thus he will reduce the risk of insolvency if the brand fails.
