Launch strategy for Nitro Pepsi a good one, expert says | News | Notre Dame News | University of Notre Dame Skip To Content Skip To Navigation Skip To Search University of Notre Dame Notre Dame News Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Home Contact Search Menu Home › News › Launch strategy for Nitro Pepsi a good one, expert says Launch strategy for Nitro Pepsi a good one, expert says Published: February 23, 2022 Author: Shannon Roddel ND Experts Mitchell Olsen Associate Teaching Professor, Marketing Pepsi A “soft” drink, for certain. On Wednesday (Feb. 23), PepsiCo announced a brand-new beverage called Nitro Pepsi, a first-of-its-kind nitrogen-infused cola that is creamier and smoother than traditional carbonated sodas. Nitro Pepsi, referred to by the beverage giant as its “most ambitious feat yet,” will be available in the United States on March 28 in both regular and vanilla flavors. The canned drinks will use a nitrogen-filled capsule that releases the gas when the can is opened, inspired by the technology Guinness uses for its nitro beers. After first teasing the debut of nitrogen-infused soft drinks three years ago, Pepsi is finally releasing Nitro Pepsi and the strategy has been a good one, according to Mitchell Olsen, assistant professor of marketing at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business. Mitchell Olsen “Some may remember that Pepsi offered samples of the product at the 2019 Super Bowl that occurred in, of all places, Coca-Cola’s hometown of Atlanta,” Olsen said. “At the time, it was reported that Pepsi would focus the initial launch on restaurants and bars. That strategy made a lot of sense, since servers at restaurants and bars were in a great position to facilitate ideal trial experiences of this new type of soft drink — for instance, by increasing the chances people tried it without ice or a straw as Pepsi recommends.” However, the COVID-19 pandemic shut down restaurants and bars in 2020, so Olsen says it seems Pepsi took some time to completely redraw its launch strategy for Nitro Pepsi. “Clearly, the company is doing a lot to ensure it has an effective launch plan in place, and for good reason,” he said. “If the product is successful, Pepsi will have created a new form of soft drink — a feat that will offer more upside than simply introducing a new flavor. “In the short term, Pepsi can bring some excitement and new customers into the soft drink category. In the long term, Nitro Pepsi offers the possibility of significantly expanding Pepsi’s overall product line as every one of its flavors could now come in regular, diet and nitro.”   Contact: Mitchell Olsen, 574-631-1734, molsen2@nd.edu Posted In: Faculty and Staff Home Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Related October 04, 2022 NIH awards $4 million grant to psychologists researching suicide prevention September 09, 2022 Karrie Koesel to testify before Congressional-Executive Commission on China August 18, 2022 Two faculty win NEH grants to research history of red hair, philosophy of revelation August 16, 2022 NSF names Center for Computer-Assisted Synthesis a Phase II Center for Chemical Innovation August 15, 2022 Notre Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., on Russian atrocities against clergy in Ukraine For the Media Contact Office of Public Affairs and Communications Notre Dame News 500 Grace Hall Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Pinterest © 2022 University of Notre Dame Search Mobile App News Events Visit Accessibility Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn