Dive Brief:
- PepsiCo has launched Kola House, a restaurant-bar-event location, in New York City's meatpacking district in a new effort to connect with consumers, reports The New York Times.
- Noticeably absent will be rampant PepsiCo branding. All aspects of the restaurant will center around the kola nut, a caffeine-touting bitter fruit that inspired the name "cola."
- PepsiCo is nailing down details like finding an executive chef and planning a menu, but the company hopes to open Kola House in the spring.
Dive Insight:
The subtle branding concept is PepsiCo's way of appealing to a class of consumers that rejects pushy marketing ploys and instead seeks experiences with a brand. Besides minor touches like a small logo on a bar structure, PepsiCo is keeping the overt marketing to a minimum and pumping up the edge.
Whether that edge is something that a company like PepsiCo can attain, even in this type of setting, is the risk. The New York Times described one outcome for PepsiCo, which could be looking "more like a dad at a high school party than a member of the cool kids club." PepsiCo is looking beyond traditional channels to reach and engage with consumers, including creating what the company hopes is a social media-friendly concept that consumers will buzz about.
This is especially crucial for soda companies, a segment that is struggling as more consumers continue to avoid sugary drinks. Recent efforts include mini-cans, ingredient changes, and marketing campaign overhauls, but going completely outside of what's expected of these companies is another approach to consistently sliding sales.
Chobani made a similar move when it opened the Chobani SoHo Cafe in New York City, and Nestle operates two brick-and-mortar restaurant formats, a Nespresso boutique cafe and the Nestle Toll House Cafe.