Better-for-You Gatorade?


People who exercise are typically concerned with what they put into their bodies. Pepsico is hoping its Gatorade brand extension, G2, will appeal to consumers who seek hydration benefits after exercising but want less calories contained in regular sport drinks (including Gatorade). A serving of G2 contains 25 calories, half of what is in a serving of regular Gatorade.

Extending into low calorie sport drinks is not new for Gatorade. It tried it in the early 1990s with Gatorade Light and failed. What’s the difference this time? There appear to be several differences. First, Pepsico got the brand name right. By avoiding the “Light” tag in the brand name, there is less chance that consumers will feel they are getting a “diet” version of the product. It is similar to what Coca-Cola is trying to do with its branding of Coke Zero. They are diet drinks that are not positioned as diet drinks! Second, more consumers are involved in recreational activities and pursuit of a healthy lifestyle. Market demand for products that meet their needs stand a better chance of gaining acceptance than they did 15 years ago. Third, the marketing know how of Pepsico and its channel relationships should benefit G2. These factors, coupled with the benefit of being able to learn from the failure of Gatorade Light, make G2 a more viable brand extension. Link

Author: Don Roy

Don Roy is a marketing educator, blogger, and author. His thirty-year career began with roles in retail management, B2B sales, and franchise management. For the past 22 years, Don has shared his passion for marketing as a marketing professor. Don's teaching and research interests include brands, sports marketing, and social media marketing. Don has authored over 20 articles in scholarly journals, co-authored two textbooks, and self-published three books on personal branding. Don is an avid hockey fan and enjoys running. He and his wife, Sara, have three sons.

One thought on “Better-for-You Gatorade?”

  1. when i was sick last week, my doctor told me to drink gatorade which i thought it was weird but it does replenish your body of fluids lost.
    i wouldn’t drink it otherwise, it has a strange flavor to me.
    i defintely think that people who exercise are looking for a good sport drink and by gatorade marketing their new drink as “not diet” they are going to do better with it.

    coke is smart about the new coke zero ad and i’d always get a lot of bull from my family when they’d see me drink diet coke, epecially if we’re eating desert and drinking coke (only time i drink coke). now i can get the new coke zero and i woulnd’t hear comments like “eating cake and drinking diet coke he?”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.