1. PowerAde
2. A. When was the competitor’s company founded? Has your company been in business longer?
PowerAde was created and introduced by The Coca-Cola Company in 1988. The reason why PowerAde was created was to directly compete with PepsiCo’s
Gatorade. They saw the success that Gatorade had amongst the sports world and sports drink market, so they thought they would throw their name into that market and try to compete with PepsiCo. PowerAde later gained a large enough portion of the market share and was named the official sports drink of the Olympic
Games.
2. B. What is a brief history of the competitor’s product?
In 1988, PowerAde became the official sports drink of the Olympics, alongside
Aquarius, another sports drink made by Coca-Cola. In July 2001, The Coca-Cola
Company launched a new formula for PowerAde including vitamins B3, B6 and
B12, which play a role in energy metabolism. In July 2002, The Coca-Cola
Company updated the bottles of the standard PowerAde to a new sport-grip bottle.
In 2002, The Coca-Cola Company introduced PowerAde Option to the United
States, in response to Gatorade's popular Propel. Option is a "low Calorie sports drink" that is colorless and sweetened to provide sugar-conscious consumers with another rehydration choice. PowerAde Option took 36% of the Fitness Water category behind Propel's 42%. In June 2007, The Coca-Cola Company bought
Glacéau, owner of brands such as VitaminWater and SmartWater. In 2008,
PowerAde Zero, a zero-calorie sports drink with electrolytes and no carbohydrates

was released. PowerAde Option was subsequently discontinued. In 2009,
PowerAde was relaunched as PowerAde ION4, a formulation that contains four key electrolytes in the same ratio that is typically lost in sweat. PepsiCo sued The
Coca-Cola Company, after ads were released claiming that Gatorade was an incomplete sports drink, since it only contained two of the four key electrolytes.
The presiding judge ruled in favor of Coca-Cola.
3. A. What is your ranking of your main competitor in the industry versus yours?
Gatorade currently owns over 70-77% of the sports drink market, while PowerAde owns 22-30% of the remaining share or the market. The reason why Gatorade owns so much of the market is because they have been around longer and is the official sports drink of many sports such as NASCAR, the NFL, the NBA, the
WNBA, US Soccer, MLB, and the PGA. The Gatorade logo is seen almost every day on television and fans see their favorite athletes drinking Gatorade.
PowerAde is the official sports drink of the Olympic Games, but that is televised every four years.
3. B. State competitor’s average retail price versus your product’s average retail price.
Gatorade’s prices can vary from $2 - $11 depending on the size of the bottle and the size pack you buy. You can buy a bottle of Gatorade individually and also in a

pack of six, eight or twelve. PowerAde’s prices are similar to Gatorade’s, plus or minus a few cents. Also, prices vary on sales in stores and what price the store decides to sell the drink. For example, Stop & Shop may have a lower average price on Gatorade and PowerAde, while some smaller stores might boost the price a few extra cents.
4. List the features and benefits of your competitor’s product that your company’s product does not have.
PowerAde has one feature and benefit that Gatorade does not have. PowerAde has
B6 and B2 vitamins (Feature), therefore it contains the production of energy will increase due to these vitamins (Advantage), which means the user will be able to last longer than normal (Benefit).
5.A. Compare your top competitor’s packaging.
Whenever you see then lighting bolt or the Gatorade G, you know and easily recognize the product. The use of dark backdrops and colorful bottles, and words differentiates Gatorade from other products in the same market. The color of the drink pops and you notice it. Also, some bottles have a sports grip, which allows you to have a more comfortable grip while you drink. The different colors also makes Gatorade unique. The colors make the consumer notice it in the store and make them want to try the flavor. If somebody’s favorite color is blue, then they are going to buy the blue color Gatorade. Color is a major part in catching the

attention of the customer. PowerAde’s colors tend to be on the darker side and don’t appeal to the eye as much. Walking down an isle in the supermarket,
Gatorade will catch your attention before you can notice the PowerAde bottles.
5. B. List the ingredients of your product and your competitor’s product.
The ingredients in these two beverages are very similar for the most part. There are some differences with the amount of salt and sugar used, as well as the type of sugar. Gatorade contains salt, sodium citrate and monopotassium phosphate.
Powerade is made with salt, potassium phosphate and potassium citrate. An 8oz serving of Gatorade contains 50 calories, 110 mg of sodium, 14 g carbs and 14 g sugar. 8oz of Powerade on the other hand has 70 calories, 55mg sodium, 19 g carbs and 15g sugar. Both drinks feature 30 mg potassium and 0 sugar. So basically Powerade has more calories while Gatorade has more sodium, so you can use that info to choose between the two if those are a factor.
6. What and where does your top competitor advertise?
Since PowerAde doesn’t have the advantage that Gatorade has with sponsoring the top sports and have their name out there in such a big way, it is harder for them to advertise. They do sponsor the Australian, Ireland and Ne Zealand rugby teams, along with many soccer leagues and teams. PowerAde does have billboards that drivers can see while driving on the highway and they have commercials and advertisements in stores. They also sponsor some athletes such as NBA players
Lebron James, Chris Paul and Derrick Rose.

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