6-2 Student Blog:

By Jarrett Bregler

Introduction

Hi everyone,

PepsiCo Incorporated is a longstanding reputable company in the beverage and snacking industry. It has an extensive portfolio of products, but in recent years, newer ones have been derived from their partners, and they needed a new product to remind the industry of their innovation prowess and to revolutionize the industry itself in contending with their primary competitor of Coke. The solution is the Flip Sip Soda Cap, a product that ensures a pleasant user interaction for all of its consumers and one that includes consumers who haven’t been industry priorities, individuals with disabilities and chronic health conditions. Designed to further inclusivity, cultural competence, and environmental consciousness with the target market of millennials, the Flip Sip Soda Cap promises to deliver on these product usage outcomes and its proposal has evoked compelling market research data for all facets of its product development and execution. However, with these findings, there have also been some limitations. In this blog article, we will explore both. 

Preliminary Market Research Findings:

Market Research Conducted and Organizational Objectives’ Alignment

The preliminary market research for the proposed product of the Flip Sip Soda Cap has unearthed numerous findings predominantly correlated with Pepsi’s organizational objectives which aligns with the product’s intention. It has “…prioritized decision-making emphasizing effectiveness and efficiency” (Babin & Zikmund, 2019, p. 9). The research has revealed that the proposed consumer product supports Pepsi’s organizational objectives in several ways. An overriding one is through product portfolio and market expansions in the beverage and snacking industry. The product of the Flip Sip Soda Cap aligns with four of its predominant organizational objectives. These include innovation, advancing inclusivity and environmental protections, and improving the global community. The research garnered essential insights into the target market for the Flip Sip Soda Cap of millennials. The market research supports the organization’s objectives by furthering Pepsi’s comprehension of its consumer’s needs, preferences, and expectations in order to attain business growth success. “Consumer research helps companies to better understand the reasons and motives for customer actions” (Cleave, 2022). It helps with the production of improved products through the internal factor of innovation. Better functionality solves the external factor of users’ needs and in the case of the Flip Sip Soda Cap, a diverse population of users with diversified needs. It supports efficiency of product interfacing such as the Flip Sip Soda Cap and its leak proof design for easier product transport. It assists in the identification of potential consumer needs as well as pain points. For example, the research unearthed a health-related trend that will become an industry trend within the next five years. This involves disability and chronic disease onset for this target audience that was an unanticipated need that is now looming in the immediate future. Thus, there was a revelation of an emerging market. It elicited awareness of significant growth potential and elucidated the need for user-interfacing (UX) expertise to be included in the product’s design execution to ensure global consumer usability. Moreover, further research elucidated competitor analysis that created an opportunity for Pepsi to advance the internal factor of its leadership relative to its organizational objective of improving the global community. It uncovered that Coke decided to adhere to a European Union imposed regulation with their version of a fused binder cap. Trends revealed that consumers partaking in this product were largely removing the cap as it was popping back up thereby causing a product engagement intrusion. Even more concerning, this data demonstrated that many of the product users were getting injured on the mouth or through more internal oral injuries. This evolved the innovation organizational objective. Awareness was garnered that the UX capacities had to not only ensure the feasibility of product use for all users, but that it had to ensure a lack of injuries relative to product engagement. This evolved the design from a specialized flip up straw and flip top cap to the inclusion of a binded ring that held the cap down, which was an improvement for all users. It additionally generated a product that could accomplish more than what the competitor set out to achieve.

Furthermore, through the utilization of primary marketing research tools such as surveys and focus groups and the analysis of secondary data relative to trends, additional consumer analysis, and competition analysis, Pepsi was able to gain insight into the innovation that was needed to align with the consumer segment of millennials. It was gleaned that the utilization of user-interfacing technologies could most adeptly correspond to product engagement needs connected to physical and sensory disabilities as well as chronic health conditions. This evolved the consumer needs to be more comprehensively inclusive to all users and thereby supports Pepsi’s organizational objective of inclusivity. It additionally made it possible for the company to meet its other operational objective, the external factor of environmental consciousness. The binded ring makes it arduous to remove the cap from the bottle and thus, caps, the most significant of all of the single-use plastics filling landfills and hindering ocean life can largely remain out of them. Hence, plastic pollution  can be mitigated and moreover, this enables Pepsi to uphold its mission tenet of corporate social responsibility. Overall, this attainment aligns with the values and buying preferences of the target market which advances brand awareness and loyalty, furthers engagement with a diverse population of users including an untapped aspect of the market, and will result in sales conversions and amplified revenue. This additionally includes being more responsive to the international market and their rising needs relative to consumers in this target market with disabilities. This need not only involves responding to these needs, it means evolving the marketing approach to include cultural sensitivities in relation to their product use and engagement. This is notable as it not only facilitates market expansion, it additionally bridges the gap in the potential for reducing increased regulations which typically occur in this market due to the industry’s sometimes incomprehension of the global needs and preferences of this consumer segment. Essentially, secondary research unearthed a debilitating industry trend relative to single-use plastic that has adversely affected the U.S. and the regions of the international market. This incited further innovation with the product design in ensuring that it remained fused to the bottle and kept caps out of these landfills and oceans. Collectively, this data collection and application will result in the attainment of the company’s other operational objective of consumer stakeholder engagement.

In addition, the research has supported Pepsi’s organizational objectives through marketing strategy development relative to the segmentation of millennials and its corresponding product promotion. The Flip Sip Soda Cap product promotion connects with the target audience of millennials. The product promotion strategy encompasses the cultivation of the external factor of a relationship with the intended audience. “One of the primary goals of product promotion is building meaning into the relationship with this target market” (Baxter, 2024). Essentially, the marketing campaign’s purpose is to illuminate the product’s benefits to users and the environment and to garner their investment in progressing this benefit for advanced overall consumer usage, inclusivity, and environmental protections. The effectiveness of the strategy will help Pepsi achieve its organizational objectives “…by aligning marketing efforts with the target audience and also aligning these efforts with its business goals” (Adner, 2023). This drives target market acquisition. It drives their retention. It ultimately amplifies revenue generation, and this contributes to Pepsi’s organizational and industry success. This research helps Pepsi to understand the best place to connect with the target audience to achieve these goals. This involves “…the determination of the most relevant distribution channels” (Sprague, 2024). This augments the marketing strategy with ensuring that the product is accessible, convenient for acquisition, and flexible with choices that best align with the target market’s buying preferences. Furthermore, the market research informed the strategic direction relative to positioning the product to capture market share. This achieves growth goals. Fundamentally, “the organization can tailor its offerings to best meet the needs of its consumer base while staying ahead of the competition” (Grant, 2024). Finally, the research correlated with the marketing mix assisted in Pepsi’s comprehension regarding the most effective pricing strategy to be implemented. What was surprising was that data revealed that by using a price-neutral strategy, this would likely avoid an industry trend of reducing product engagement with comparable products to Coke’s and those promoted through the European Union. It elucidated that it would support the perception of Pepsi rising as an industry leader in rectifying not only a competitor faux pas, but also that of the international market and one that was on the verge of being instituted in the United States. Prices being kept similar to competitors like Coke and the others may not seem immediately advantageous, but it has several positive outcomes for Pepsi. This includes more consumers buying the Flip Sip Soda Cap product which overall mitigates a plastic problem that the competitor and the international markets were perpetuating. Another positive benefit is that it aligns with Pepsi’s target market of millennial consumers more readily with product acquisition. This is due to it eliciting an appreciation that millennials have in regards to exercising their purchasing power and doing so with companies that align with their values of corporate social responsibility including environmental protections as well as the other product benefit of inclusivity. This elicits an approval from the millennials and will draw more consumers to Pepsi thereby increasing market share and eventually evolving product sustainability in its global market. By garnering their interest and upholding their value-related preferences, their engagement and that correlated with addressing the consumer gap of those who haven’t been able to partake in the product will ensure a “…stable to eventual robust profit margin due to the satisfaction of the target audience” (Billige, 2024). As millennials are also price-conscious in their purchasing behaviors, this will further solidify their investment in the product. By Pepsi executing this pricing strategy, they are illuminating a brand story of the target market’s desire to make a positive global impact with advancing both inclusivity and environmental protections. Overall, market research revealed consumer, industry, and competitor trends causing Pepsi to make informed decisions regarding their organizational objectives and the direction of their company. The research, the product, and the target market have harnessed an organizational power that will secure Pepsi’s industry leadership for many years to come.  

Industry Trends and Possible Implications

In launching a new product, there are several key trends that are impactful for the product and the company. As with the Flip Sip Soda Cap, there are trends relative to health and wellness, sustainability, and convenience. There are also emerging technologies, omnichannel and retail marketing, and social responsibility. These impact Pepsi through product development, target audience, market research, and marketing strategy, to name a few. This is why market research is essential in trends identification and consumer needs comprehension. A pertinent correlation between market research and trends entails industry trends. Marketing research is supported by industry trends. These trends have implications for Pepsi as they elucidate new market opportunities, they illuminate the behavior and traits of consumers, and they elicit competitor analysis and reveal how a company can exceed their competition with new product offerings such as the Flip Sip Soda Cap. Fundamentally, they help marketing research assist the company with informed decision-making that improves products, generates effective marketing strategies and campaigns, and reduces risks that can cause companies mistakes that are costly or that damage their reputation. Concurrently, marketing research also supports industry direction. It does so by providing the insights that are needed relative to market trends, market dynamics, competitor strategies, and of utmost importance, consumer needs. With industry trends, there are also trends that can impact the proposed consumer product and company. 

Several industry trends have been identified through the project proposal. Some involve potential obstacles and others involve growth opportunities and market expansion possibilities. An initial industry trend identified through the project proposal pertains to the product. It entails product introduction and product acceptance. This trend involves a growing emphasis on inadequate market adoption. This is an ongoing trend in Pepsi’s beverage and snack industry as the industry has been saturating the market with new products. The issues are linked with “…the public not wanting it, the item didn’t resonate with the brand, or the company was too early in the product cycle launch” (Doering, 2023). In the case of the Flip Sip Soda Cap, product interfacing is a correlation. It involves “…a multi-sensory response, and congruence is key to this process” (Askew, 2022) especially given that its usability is connected to supporting individuals with physical and sensory issues connected to disabilities and chronic health conditions. Congruence is achieved if the interaction between the product and the user is compatible. If the interaction is considered unpleasant, users will experience “…a suppressive response in relation to usability and will reject the product” (Askew, 2022). This sensory interaction is additionally imperative with the target market of millennials and their preferences for product engagement as sensory interaction is also correlated with the psychographic segmentation quality of preference. If the user experience is compromised through a negative sensory interaction, product rejection can occur. This is interconnected with the industry trend affiliated with the company, reputation risk. If there is an adverse perception of the product, it is associated with the company thereby hindering its reputation and compromising the rest of its product portfolio. With regards to the Flip Sip Soda Cap, this risk could be associated with the product’s focus on disability and chronic health condition support. This elicits another industry trend of misaligned marketing perception. Rather than the perception of including all users of the beverage in the industry, there could be a connotation that it excludes traditional product consumers. Society is not too embracive of the consideration of these needs. Current and potential millennial consumers of Pepsi’s could reject the utilization of the product, and the implication is that it will thwart their operational objectives relative to inclusivity and environmental protections. It will also negatively impact their strategic goal of market expansion with this target market. Members of this consumer segment may not want to be affiliated with a negative association attached to product use. Word-of-mouth is also rampant in this industry and with the target market of millennials. If there is a “…negative consumer perception, social media backlash will occur, and loss of trust in the brand could impede its market integration” (Askew, 2022). Essentially, Pepsi’s product could be construed as another industry trend that doesn’t resonate with consumers and even after a launch, this perception could hinder product sustainability. Given that the competitive landscape has the primary competitor of Coke facing backlash for its new fused ring binder cap, this would not only hurt Pepsi, it would affect the entirety of the industry. A final and correlating trend involves international product distribution and international regulations. Due to the fused ring binder cap’s failure in the international market, the timing of Pepsi’s new product could elicit potential regulatory roadblocks. It can also elicit further regulatory concerns given the shortcomings of the fused ring binder cap. Essentially, given the limitations with the existing product utilized by the competitor, there could be a tentativeness with some countries in backing Pepsi’s product. This could cause them to enforce stricter licensing relative to the product as a response to the binder cap issues “…and as a means to not repeat the dissemination of products with notable deficiencies” (Appel, 2024). Concurrently, the industry trend of market expansion could be hindered. This would contradict Pepsi’s operational objectives of progressing inclusivity and environmental protections in its international markets. This would also hinder Pepsi’s ability to achieve its goal of aligning the Flip Sip Soda Cap with millennials. Millennials represent a means for the company to expand its presence globally. The strategy of this new product would enable it to capture a larger share of the market.

Another industry trend identified in relation to the project proposal includes the need for innovation. It is significant in product development and execution. With regard to the target audience of millennials, research revealed that it is a priority of theirs. Millennials have been “…raised to believe that technology enables them to do more and hence, they have this expectation in relation to their product preferences and engagement” (Mendall, 2022). Concurrently, millennials are a catalyst for innovation. They subscribe to the notion that “…businesses can do more to address social issues” (Mendall, 2022). These interconnected trends illuminated that the Flip Sip Soda Cap’s usability innovation and that correlated with its ability to improve environmental protections aligned with the values of the target market. Essentially, the product is consumer-centric which is linked to “…high conversion rates and consumer retention” (Gibb, 2023). A further industry trend encompasses increased market opportunities. Although it was addressed that market expansion efforts could be compromised due to the issues correlated with the competitor’s fused ring binder cap, the industry trend of increased market opportunities is possible due to the Flip Sip Soda Cap. This new product “…will create market growth opportunities” (Gibb, 2023), if the potential issues can be mitigated. This trend encompasses improved consumer experience. An enhanced consumer experience also creates market growth opportunities. This additionally involves the exploration of new markets. There are new regions in which this product will be in demand. One of these is Mexico. The reason for the demand pertains to its population of consumers which includes “the rate of people living with disabilities being close to 10 million” (United Nations & Women’s Refugee Commission, 2023) and millennial consumers represent forty percent of this figure. Thus, there is emerging market expansion with emerging markets for substantial international market growth. This will be augmented by the market expansion that will occur in the decade beginning of 2030 when the onset of millennials enduring disabilities and chronic health conditions grows to forty-four percent in the United States. 

Future Trends

In addition, there are some possible future trends with implications of these trends for Pepsi. With respect to innovation, there will be more technological changes. While the Flip Sip Soda Cap is currently innovative, especially in relationship to user-interfacing (UX) product usage outcomes, technology changes rapidly, and could render parts of the product’s design or its entirety as obsolete in upcoming years and before millennials have advanced into the anticipated health concern relative to their demographic enduring the onset of disabilities in chronic health conditions beginning in 2030. This trend further involves the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI). AI will have an impact on innovation. It will also have one regarding consumer engagement and retention. AI “…will be organized within a “human framework” to enhance the human experience” (Thomas, 2023). This involves exemplifying the role of technology in a human-centric approach. It includes comprehension of human behavior in relation to product engagement and acquisition. AI could assist Pepsi in “…better understanding consumer emotions and behavior” (Zaytsev, 2023). This will involve investing more significantly in algorithmic analysis relative to psychographic trait tendencies. Fundamentally, this will advance their current initiatives correlated with personalization. Trends reveal that AI will enable Pepsi to more adeptly “…deliver personalized customer experiences by combining data and human science to understand consumer behaviors” (Zaytsev, 2023). The implication of the AI trend will take Pepsi’s current organizational objectives and catapult them to a level of operational and consumer engagement expertise that will ensure its position at the top of its industry. An additional trend applies to the advancement of environmental protection practices. Essentially, it pertains to sustainability and the environment. Given the industry’s environmental impact on plastic pollution affiliated with single-use plastics, trends in relation to sustainability indicate that Pepsi could become more invested in recycling efforts, renewable energy, and reducing carbon emissions. Regarding recycling and packaging, Pepsi could be advancing its recycling technologies. This involves “…improving methods with the goal of enhancing the recycling rate of their products” (Carmely, 2023). This strategy supports a circular economy through the prevention of waste and environmental protections. In addition to one hundred percent recyclable design packaging, future trends illuminate a joint investment in the company’s recycling infrastructure and in consumer education efforts. Moreover, they indicate a sustainable plastics vision for the company. The implication of this trend is that it will advance Pepsi’s current organizational objective of sustainability in the pursuit of a goal in which “…plastics need never become waste” (Carmely, 2023). This involves ensuring that its packaging is not only recyclable, but also compostable, or biodegradable. In addition, the trend’s focus will evolve to include advancing partnerships with entities committed to environmental protections such as the Forest Stewardship Council and garnering more certifications in environmental protections to elucidate transparency, relevancy, and credibility to consumers. Overall, the implications of these future trends indicate that the Flip Sip Soda Cap will be a segue into this exciting and progressive future for Pepsi.

Marketing Proposal and Strategy’s Legal, Ethical, and Industry Standards’ Compliance

The marketing proposal and the proposed marketing strategy align with legal, ethical, and industry standards through honesty in advertising relative to usability, inclusivity, and sustainability as well as their prioritization of transparency, responsible data collection, and an adherence to required regulations. As will be noted, there are interconnections in their execution relative to the marketing strategy including legalities with ethics and legalities with industry standard regulations. Let’s begin with inclusivity. As the product design encompasses disability and chronic disease support, an overriding aspect of the marketing strategy involves legal standard adherence with truthful claims in the advertising especially relative to inclusivity. This was able to be achieved through the application of user-interface design (UX). This expertise “…furthered product design credibility” (Kelley, 2024). This also ensures that there are no false or inflated claims regarding its product usage. With ethical adherence, the marketing strategy aligns with ethical standards. “This encompasses prioritizing honesty, transparency, authenticity, and responsibility towards consumers in content and the campaign” (Talimonchuk, 2024). There are also ethical standards relative to inclusivity. “Marketing campaigns must avoid stereotypes or exclusionary messaging for all consumers and for those companies with a diverse global consumer base” (Carmely, 2023). Content messaging additionally has ethical standards. Content messaging must include “…straightforward global inclusivity language that resonates with all users” (Ojiaku, 2023). In addition to the sensitivities required for disabilities and chronic health conditions, there is also the need for avoiding harm in relation to overall cultural insensitivity. “Content must prevent offense and negative social impact” (Talimonchuk, 2024). Further, transparency is a legal expectation that Pepsi is upholding with its data and content messaging. With regards to the latter, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires that “…the marketing must be evidence-based” (Clayton-McDonald, 2023 ) and thus, this is why the Flip Sip Soda Cap was designed with UX expertise. Further, the FTC Act prohibits unfair or deceptive advertising in any medium, this includes online advertising and in-person advertising through brick-and-mortar locations and hence, the content and campaign adhere to this. Moreover, the strategy is in compliance with industry specific regulatory standards. This involves marketing practices and labeling and product claims. Industry standard adherence with the strategy and campaign are also aligned with professional conduct in consumer interactions, competitive practices, and digital and in-store best practices. Regarding professional conduct with consumers, this includes the aforementioned transparency as well as accountability to consumers in all interactions. It additionally involves fair participation and ensuring all consumers in the target market have access to the company and the product. With competitive practices, the campaign focuses on Pepsi’s unique value proposition in relation to the product. It does not encompass comparisons to their primary competitor of Coke that would be misleading. With marketing best practices online and offline, Pepsi is adhering to the industry standard of “…clear disclosure of content and adherence to platform and retail guidelines” (Talimonchuk, 2024). Transparency is also expected to extend beyond promotion to product placement. Unintended exploitation of millennial consumers is closely tied to this. Although “targeted marketing is essential for aligning the product with the intended consumers” (Rodriguez, 2024), it should not emphasize culture, disabilities and/or chronic health conditions. Target marketing should focus on shared values as this is more inclusive. This “…sustains socially responsible marketing practices” (Rodriguez, 2024). This is critical especially given that this product’s intention is to uphold inclusivity in the beverage and snacking industry. Another legal standard of adherence encompasses data privacy. This is essential for a marketing strategy as it facilitates trust with consumers. It “…enhances brand reputation, ensures regulation compliance, and enables more impactful targeted marketing through the ethical use of consumer and target market data” (Shawki, 2024). In the United States, data protection laws are under the operational guidance of the FTC. In international markets, the strategy adheres to the General Data Protection Regulation for interaction with international consumers. This is also of particular pertinence relative to the involvement of millennial consumers with disability and health-related concerns.

As the secondary aspect of the product and its usage involves the promotion of its function in relation to environmental protections, there are additional factors relative to standard adherence in the strategy. The Flip Sip Soda Cap has a feature that enables its cap to stay on to ensure that caps remain out of landfills and oceans. Hence, in addition to adhering to those standards above as applicable, there are a few more specific to this product usage outcome. As previously asserted, plastic caps are the most significant aspect of plastic pollution relative to Pepsi’s industry. Thus, the content marketing will include legal and ethical standards upholding “…truthful and verifiable claims about the product’s environmental impact” (Dsalaberri, 2023). Concurrently, there is industry standard adherence involving misleading content and campaign objectives correlated with greenwashing. Greenwashing pertains to misleading consumers regarding a company’s actual activities affiliated with environmental protections. Both an industry and legal standard that Pepsi will institute with the marketing strategy and campaign is the adherence to the FTC’s Green Guides. This includes “…what constitutes a green claim and evidenced-based marketing” (Dsalaberri, 2023). Further, another industry standardization that the marketing strategy is upholding is adherence to environmental marketing standards as set by the American Marketing Association (AMA). As Pepsi is an international company, the strategy and campaign are additionally aligned with the International Chamber of Commerce. Their standardization calls for environmental content marketing that includes “…verified claims, defining eco-friendly language, not partaking in selective disclosure and educating the public on the realities of plastic pollution, and not utilizing false certifications from a certified environmental organization” (Klauss, 2023). With respect to ethical standards, the strategy and campaign focus on the verifiable action related to the Flip Sip Soda Cap’s fused benefit of remaining attached to the bottle. It includes Pepsi’s transparency regarding its past issues with plastic pollution and how it is still working to improve its performance regarding environmental protections. Finally, the campaign includes an educational component for consumers so their interactions with the product in relation to this product use outcome aligns with informed consent and encourages them to partner with Pepsi globally to promote its corporate social responsibility and operational objective relative to sustainability.

Marketing Proposal and Strategy Overview in Relation to Compliance

There are legal, ethical, and industry implications in implementing a marketing proposal. “Several laws and regulations govern how businesses can market their products” (Finlay). They are critical in marketing planning. They “…set the boundaries within which marketing activities must operate such as those involving advertising standards, data protection, and consumer rights in developing the marketing plan” (Finlay, 2024). This framework coincides with the creation of effective marketing campaigns. As the marketing strategy is the crux of the proposal for the Flip Sip Soda Cap, it aligns with legal, ethical, and industry standards as outlined below. The strategy is personalization marketing involving segmentation, omnichannel interconnectivity, and service branding. It will encompass personalized content messaging, social media engagement, text and email campaigns, and a historical success of Pepsi’s influencer marketing. The service branding is correlated with the two outcomes of product use, inclusivity and environmental protections. This represents a precursor to the aforementioned future industry trend pertaining to artificial intelligence and the human-centric approach in interfacing with consumers. The strategy is for the target audience of millennials. It is inclusive of individuals with disabilities, those with chronic health conditions, and diversified cultures relative to Pepsi’s international markets. Essentially, all product users. The marketing campaign largely entails communication strategies exemplifying the product’s benefits to users and the environment to resonate with the target audience. It concurrently includes the promotion of a product with a legitimate value proposition as it adheres to a framework of legal, ethical, and industry standardization compliance. “A strategy and campaign crafted around the nuances of these standards is also more adept at addressing the pain points, desires, and needs of its target audience” (Aulock, 2024). Thus, the strategy and campaign are not only legitimized for consumer engagement and interaction, they are further tailored for an increased marketing efficiency which leads to more conversions and enhanced return on investment. As the product’s usage outcomes entail two overriding objectives involving inclusivity and environmental consciousness, all three standards are applied to these in the strategy and campaign. Given the product’s design relative to disability and chronic disease support as well as environmental consciousness, inclusivity and sustainability in personalized marketing with a service branding strategy are interconnected for a comprehensive approach to target market engagement. There is emphasis on the globalized culture with user-interfacing (UX) for inclusivity and eco-design for environmental protections. “True inclusion is achieved when every customer feels like the brand was made for them, reflecting their personal needs, preferences, and aspirations” (Rodríguez-Vilá, et al., 2024). Sustainable product design is similar in intention. “True eco-consciousness is attained in the impact reduction potential of environmental unsustainability” (Dsalaberri, 2023). Hence, the marketing strategy is synonymous with the target audience’s values, lifestyle, and cultural context. In order to align the value of the product with the value preference of the demographic, inclusive, sustainable personalization will ensure that the marketing efforts are tailored to fit the unique identity of the millennial consumer. 

Market Proposal Research Limitations

There have been some limitations that have been encountered in creating a marketing proposal for the product of the Flip Sip Soda Cap relative to research. An overriding one pertains to limited data availability in specific areas of study. This involves “…difficulty accessing comprehensive data” (Simon, 2023). While there were a plethora of research resources, there were a few areas in which there were depth limitations. This means that there were “…limitations with intricate details or complex nuances which limits the comprehensiveness of the findings” (Sirisilla, 2023) and it would have been preferable to have more context in relation to these study areas. Essentially, the goal would have been more rigorous data collection. For example, there was a significant amount of research data relative to user-interfacing (UX) and product engagement especially in relation to individuals with disabilities and/or chronic health conditions with physical and sensory issues and their product usage needs. However, data was more scant in relation to the application of a UX product with a target population of varying abilities including no limitations at all. Concurrently, the data evoked awareness of a pertinent segment and eventual industry trend in relation to millennials developing disabilities and chronic health conditions in the upcoming decade, but it was limited in regards to this impact on the industry in relation to future trends research data. Thus, there was “…limited data on an emerging characteristic of a consumer segment” (Mettha, 2023). Essentially this pertains to not fully capturing the impact of the emerging trend. By not more extensively capturing the specificity of these needs, there can be inadequacies in trend assumptions and predictions involving the product’s eventual appeal in response to need. It also affects determinations regarding market size expansions and correlations with the amplification of market share. It additionally involved a lack of comprehensive comprehension of statistical analysis that would more succinctly illuminate how the Flip Sip Soda Cap will support Pepsi in advancing its market share in relation to this eventual staggering need. Concurrently, there was a secondary resource limitation pertaining to single-use plastic pollution relative to the beverage industry. While there was enough research to support the innovation of the Flip Sip Soda Cap and its design to ensure that the caps will stay out of landfills and oceans, there wasn’t substantive enough data to truly glean the depth of this impact as an industry trend. Much of the secondary data pertained to global adverse impacts and as this is a pertinent aspect of product usage outcomes, more statistical analysis would have further endorsed the need for the identified product usage outcome. Primarily, with both product usage outcomes, there was enough data to substantiate the need for the product and to verify its usability in addressing consumer gap areas in the industry. However, given that it is a more standalone product in a longstanding industry, it would have been heartening to have access to more factual information. Fundamentally, market research is crucial for assertions affiliated with product need and intended uses and “…concrete data about the product and its impact on the market is more verifiable” (Patrick, 2024). This is due diligence that reduces the risk of data inaccuracies and upholds objective evidence. Furthermore, there was a gap in the provision of competitor analysis relative to their plastic pollution trends. While there was data in relation to their imprint, which was the worst of the industry, there wasn’t more data pertaining to their practices and why this was the case. This information would have enhanced Pepsi’s claims relative to the need for their product in the larger industry. This limitation could lead to assumptions regarding their weaknesses. This additionally makes it more difficult to exemplify the product differentiation qualities of the Flip Sip Soda Cap.  

In addition, while primary and secondary resources evoked a wealth of marketing research relative to the consumer segment of millennials as a segment and in relation to the product, given Pepsi’s global reach in its international market and the extensive population of this target market, the data on the target demographic may not have captured the need and behaviors of the larger target market. Essentially, there is “…a geographic limitation that may not reflect the needs of the wider market” (Wichmann et al, 2021, p. 505). In effect, this represents a constraint that impacts the ability to comprehensively study the scope of the project. There are a variety of cultures involved in this consumer segment and this may have elicited further data for strategizing regarding the marketing mix. It also may have evolved the marketing strategy to be more inclusive of cultural competency practices. While Pepsi upholds its corporate social responsibility and is rather committed to inclusivity and environmental protections, it does not have any direct operational objectives involving multiculturalism in product design, promotion, or distribution. It is invested in community building in all of the regions under its purview, but there is a major oversight in communications, content marketing strategies, and globalization in consumer engagement. It relies on its seven divisions to oversee their regions, but this is also likely why the data lacked industry expertise which would have evoked a deeper level of knowledge of the company’s market dynamics and unforeseen or gleaned challenges. Finally, on a side note, in relation to the international market, one that could emerge as a limitation encompasses potential regulations in data privacy relative to consumers with disabilities and product engagement. While data privacy regulations were part of the data collection, there are more regulations within the United States and the higher populations of the consumer segment with these concerns is in the international market. The market research revealed regulations in relation to them with product dissemination. However, data security efforts are being heightened throughout the world and are involving more governmental regulations that are not consistent in the international market. This issue could interrupt or detain Pepsi’s ability to disseminate products like this to those most in need of it and cause a bottleneck in production efforts and a significant reduction in revenue generation.

Conclusion

PepsiCo Incorporated is on the cusp of transforming its industry with the new Flip Sip Soda Cap. Its associated market research has set the company on the path for imminent success. Although there have been some limitations relative to data availability and gaps, much of the research has elicited a direction for the company in order for it to progress several of its operational objectives. While it can sometimes be a challenge to evoke pertinent data acquisition in data exploration, market research predominantly is transformative in taking a global need and eliciting data that can transform that need into a sustainable solution that evolves the quality of life of a consumer segment such as millennials. Its ability to comprehend segments of consumers, to identify corresponding opportunities for them, and to elicit informed decision-making that plays an integral role in compelling marketing strategies, product conception, product development, and marketplace expansion is irrefutable. Overall, it is an essential aspect of a company’s business growth strategy turning companies like Pepsi into industry titans. Thank you very much for engaging with the blog content. I hope you were able to glean how by being tenacious in the pursuit of market research, that it can guide a product idea into a conception with the likelihood of changing the world.