市场学case7STP.doc

Company case 7 (STP) PowerAde and All Sport: Muscling in on the sports drink market In many ways, the sports drink category mirrors the fitness-minded individual that it targets. As any fitness instructor will tell you, a good hard workout should be followed by a cooldown. After Gatorade hit the market in 1968, the sports drink category experienced double-digit growth. However, by 1996, growth had cooled down to 7.6 percent. Still, despite cooling growth, current sports drink sales total almost $1.3 billion and per-capita consumption exceeds 1.8 gallons. Gatorade pioneered that sports drink category and has dominated the market. Its primary competition has been mostly small, regional brands, such as 10K from Suntory, that could rack up only small market shares. In the early 1990s, competition increased when Coca-Cola entered the market with PowerAde and PepsiCo entered with All Sports. However, although PowerAde and All Sport have made inroads, Gatorade still holds a commanding market share. Gatorade’s sales lead its nearest rival’s by more than $1 billion. Gatorade was developed at the University of Florida in the early 1960s as a means of preventing dehydration during physical exertion and was popularized when the Florida football team used it. Stokely Van Camp, processor of canned vegetables, acquired the brand in May 1967. It positioned Gatorade as a sports drink and health food product based on its value in replacing electrolytes lost due to colds, flu, diarrhea, and vomiting. Sales grew rapidly as Stokely developed a strong position for Gatorade in the institutional team sales market. Then, in 1983, Quaker Oats purchased Stokely and expanded the sports drink category by increasing Gatorade’s distribution and promotion. Between 1983 and 1990, sales of Gatorade grew at a 28 percent compound annual growth rate. Sports drinks, or isotonic beverages, replace fluids and minerals lost during physical activity. Research shows that an isotonic drink’s effectiveness dep