Change New Product Review Product

¶ … Change New Product Review Product development is a constant area of change in any retail organization. One particular industry that seems to be constantly developing new and "improved" or slightly variant products for release in both trials and permanently is the beverage industry but namely the soft drink industry. New flavors, colors and variations of products are produced almost monthly and based upon sales figures and other issues they are re-released, released in larger quantity and/or across a broader geographical retail area.

One great example of this is what is known as Mountain Dew Throwback, which boasts the use of real cane and beet sugar in place of the usual high fructose corn syrup.

The product launch was likely initially a response to the consumer and media assault on the amount of products with high fructose corn syrup in them and how this was effecting the health of the nation, but especially young people who consume a huge quantity of soft drinks annually and who are seeing record breaking incidents of obesity and its complications at younger and younger ages (Engber, 2009) The product was first released in 2009 for a short stent, then again in 2010 and 2011 to finally be added to the permanent list of mountain dew products (Tanner 2010, Tanner 2011, mountaindew.com).

The product demonstrates a broader trend by the soft drink industry to regain market share from the so called "natural" soft drink and other drink lines that it may have lost as a result of the consumer movement to regain our health and the health of our children. Considering the release, re-release and then permanent placement scenario it is likely that the company was able to successfully gain followers for the drink and therefore retain its distribution (www.mountaindew.com).

The reality of the product's true healthfulness is questionable but the fact that PepsiCo was able to convince at least some consumers of it being "better" than high fructose corn syrup alternatives is significant as the company's intention was to bring consumers back to their product or at the least be offered an alternative that would allow them to think they were acting with greater self-efficacy.

Though the marketing schema that demonstrates the get them hooked then take it away to build a greater desire for it also seems to be a winner for the company, whose ultimate intention is to build greater and greater return on investment for stakeholders.

There is some concern regarding the higher cost of production, as the reason that high fructose corn syrup was introduced in so many products in the first place was that cane and beet sugars (containing mostly glucose as opposed to fructose) is because it costs so much less (Tanner, 2011).

The ingredient list on the can, according to the Mountaindew website includes: "CARBONATED WATER, SUGAR, ORANGE JUICE CONCENTRATE, CITRIC ACID, NATURAL FLAVOR, SODIUM BENZOATE (PRESERVES FRESHNESS), CAFFEINE, SODIUM CITRATE, GUM ARABIC, ERYTHORBIC ACID (PRESERVES FRESHNESS), CALCIUM DISODIUM EDTA (TO PROTECT FLAVOR), BROMINATED VEGETABLE OIL, YELLOW 5" (http://pepsiproductfacts.com/infobyproduct.php?brand_fam_id=1049&brand_id=1000&product=Mountain+Dew+Throwback). The notation also states that calories are 110 per service while the can itself notes 170 calories.

Either way there is a clear sense that Pepsico has invested in this idea and developed a product that has successfully caught the attention of many consumers, some who previously drank Mountain Dew or other Pepsi products made with high fructose corn syrup and others that drank other beverages but were willing to try the throwback version and have become loyal to it. In closing it is clear that the intention of Pepsico was to offer consumers something they were asking for, i.e. A healthier product.

Though it is unclear how "healthy" this product is, the company has clearly successfully demonstrated that the numbers show that the launches were a success and that the throwback products will be around for a while. In addition it is interesting to note that the product.