Pop Cola eyes bigger share of market

The elections, combined with the increasing number of retail stores as well as the effects of the dry spell due to El Niño, is expected to boost softdrink sales this year, giving manufacturers an opportunity for growth despite heavy competition and the prevailing poor economic condition.

Although Coca-Cola is expected to remain the market leader, Cosmos Bottling Corp. (CBC) said its flagship brand, Pop Cola is eyeing a 28-percent market share this year not only as a result of the growth of the market itself but also from the expected growth in its market share.

CBC’s parent company, RFM Corp., said it is investing heavily on marketing this year to help Pop Cola make more significant inroads in the market as the premier Filipino brand of softdrink.

RFM president and chief executive officer Jose Concepcion III said Pop Cola’s phenomenal popularity would make it easy for the brand to grab more market share and increase from 25 percent of total market sales last year to at least 28 percent this year.

"We are amazed by the acceptance of Pop Cola," Concepcion said. "Many people think that Cosmos’ market is primarily Sarsi. It’s not. It’s actually Pop Cola."

Concepcion noted that the company’s decision to move Pop Cola away from its strictly value-buy image had worked in favor of the product as it emerged as an alternative Filipino brand to the perennial market leader, Coca-Cola.

"We are positioning Pop Cola as the Pinoy cola, not merely as the cheaper cola available in the market," Concepcion said. "Filipinos are still very image-conscious and there has been a resurgence in preference for Filipino brands. They are more willing to give local brands a go and are finding out that they are good."

Concepcion admitted that Coca-Cola will remain the generic cola, but said Pop Cola would continue to make inroads in the market, especially in the retail segment which accounts for 80 percent of total sales.

At present, Concepcion said Pop Cola accounts for 25.5 percent of the market, putting CBC in the number two spot in terms of market share, while Pepsi is a far third with 12 percent of the market.

"Without a doubt, Coca-Cola is the market leader. But you know, Coke is Coke," he said. "In the retail market, at the sari-sari store level, we are neck-and-neck with Coca-Cola."

This year, Concepcion said the RFM Group will invest more in marketing. Last year, he said the company tripled its marketing budget and this would continue in 2001.

"We are putting more and more money behind the Pop Cola brand-building and it is paying off," he said.

Pop Cola itself is no stranger to being the market leader. Concepcion noted that 30 years ago, the cola was the leading cola brand in the Philippines until the family that owned the brand changed the formula in an attempt to quash the competition brought by Coca-Cola.

"This didn’t work at all and the cola lost its following," he said. "Now we have brought back the old formula and it has built its own following."

When RFM took over Cosmos, Concepcion said the company accounted for four percent of the market and this has since expanded to 25.5 percent in 2000. This year, sales is expected to increase when election campaigns start and this would be sustained to the end of the year as the country braces for a hot and dry weather as a result of the El Niño.