Can Schweppes push its mixer drinks out of the shadows and into the spotlight?
Schweppes is something of a marketer's dream in India. Possessing strong awareness and brand recognition, despite minimal marketing activity, the brand has maintained a leading position for some time. But as new competitors flood into the market the iconic mixer brand is ready to flex its muscles. The Drum spoke to Ruchira Bhattacharya, director of marketing (emerging categories), Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia about its strategy.
Schweppes is all set to shakeup the mixer category
Schweppes is on a mission to help put mixers into the spotlight. The Coca-Cola-owned drinks brand believes it's time to bring mixers out of the shadows of their more illustrious and visible counterparts. The flagship mixer brand has been around for over 240 years globally, long before it became part of the Coca-Cola family. The brand is something of a star within the Coca-Cola India portfolio, achieving strong recognition and awareness, despite minimal marketing. And it's set for further growth as Coca-Cola plans to kick off a major marketing push for its products.
What’s being mixed and served
Ruchira Bhattacharya, director of marketing (emerging categories) for Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia tells The Drum, “while it has done very well for itself without too much of concerted marketing aggression, we feel this is the right time to talk about the brand which is the category-leader.”
The company sees a sizable opportunity for the brand in the Indian context and there is going to be a large focus on it going forward, she says. This is backed by the emerging consumer profiles not just in metro cities but even in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities where the consumer demand is equally robust. “Socialising occasions, in general, have gone up, and within that, post-pandemic in-home socialising has become a big thing.”
Bhattacharya says there is a lot of focus both globally and locally in India, on creating a new communication platform as well as a product innovation platform for the Schweppes portfolio.
The company's India portfolio, which has focused on tonic water, soda water and ginger ale, is expanding with new additions bitter lemon and mint mojito - an India-first innovation.
“We have started the innovation journey with these two products and more such launches are in the pipeline”, says Bhattacharya.
It comes as the mix-drinks market is exploding globally, driven by the rise in premium cocktails and new entrants to the market. Brands such as Fever Tree have grown quickly across the globe and are dominating the tonic water market in the US, UK and Australia.
The digital-first playbook
With so many new competitors it's little wonder that Schweppes is turning its attention back to marketing activity.
Bhattacharya says the focus of the marketing strategy is reinforcing the brand's positioning. “Since we are doing it after a very long time, we have to be consistent while we reinforce what Schweppes stands for.”
Its first activity kicked off recently with the launch of the #MixItUpWithSchweppes campaign, which featured new brand ambassadors, Bollywood actor Siddhant Chaturvedi and former Miss World Manushi Chhillar. The campaign film was conceptualized by Glitch.
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After years of quietly occupying the mixer-market space, Schweppes is all set to defend its iconic brand's in the face of new arrivals. “This year is going to be all about that journey for the brand and maximising the category opportunity,” says Bhattacharya.