By Wesley Ngwenya
Sitting at a table in a restaurant on Cairo Road, in downtown Lusaka, I eagerly wait for my drink. I haven’t had this drink for more than three years. I wonder if I still remember the taste of it. In fact, for the first time, I am quite excited ordering this drink. The drink comes in a 350mls bottle. I waste no time and take a long sip of the contents of the bottle. I put the bottle down simultaneously burping and feeling embarrassed. “This Pepsi is really going down”, I thought.
I have never really been a big fun of Pepsi. In the United States, where Pepsi competes neck-to-neck with Coca-cola, I would only order or drink Pepsi when Coca-cola was not available. I am not sure I will continue drinking Pepsi in place of Coke but, at the moment, you get more for your money than you get for Coke. The Pepsi 350mls bottles are going at K2,200 while the Coke 300mls are going at K2,500 retail price.
Pepsi came to Zambia about six months ago under the franchise of Varun Beverages a subsidiary of RJ Corporation of India. The company is expected to invest about $30 million in the next six years here in Zambia. The company has invested in a multi-million dollar massive plant on Mungwi Road in the same neighborhood of the rival distributors of Coca-cola Zambian Breweries.
Pepsi has also invested hugely in advertising its products. Huge outdoor billboards, although not quite innovative, have been placed all over Lusaka. The company has also done well with how they display their products in major supermarkets and restaurants.
It will be interesting to know, from Pepsi, if this investment is beginning to pay off or not. This may be too early to determine, though, considering that they have been in existence for only six months. However, from the look of things Zambians seem to be determined to taste the new drink in town. Whether this is out of curiosity, the price or the quantity it is not clear but it sure seems to be working for Pepsi.
Meanwhile, the rival Coca-cola seems not to be responding. Is it because Pepsi’s presence in town is not really affecting their sales? Are they locked up in the boardroom mapping up a strategy how they can respond to the new rival in town? Besides, Pepsi hired some of the middle managers at Coca-cola.
If Coca-cola does not respond soon, Pepsi is bound to take the market share from it. The Zambian consumers are price sensitive and Pepsi’s pricing strategy seems to be working really well. In addition to Pepsi Cola, the company has introduced on the market its Mirinda Orange drink as well as the 7 Up to compete with Fanta and Sprite respectively. Personally, it was my first time to taste the Mirinda Orange drink and I am not sure I will be buying Fanta anytime soon. It is indeed a good product which will give Fanta a good fight. Will Pepsi introduce more products, on the market, in the next few years? Are we going to see Mountain Dew or Sierra Mist?
The challenge that both companies will have to face, on the local market, is to sell themselves as local companies. Coca-cola has alienated itself from the Zambian market through its SABmiller franchise. It is viewed as South African and most of its top managers are South Africans. Already, there is talk about Pepsi’s hiring people from India to be managers at its plant here in Zambia.
Both companies have an obligation to invest in the communities that they are working in. Mungwi Road needs major repairs. Although both of these companies are the major users of this deplorable road, there has been no initiative to repair the road. What are the companies doing about protecting the environment? Are they using Zambian suppliers? Are they paying the Zambian workers a living wage? These are fundamental questions that need to be asked as time goes by.
Meanwhile, as consumers, we shall sit back and relax and watch how the fight plays out here in Zambia between Coca-cola and Pepsi. It is perhaps, noteworthy to say that in the United States Pepsi has never beat Coca-cola in its sales on the beverage. Will Pepsi break that record in Zambia?
Neither I prefer heavenly juice i.e water. Drinking fizzy drinks or any drinks with sugar is a good way to poison your body slowly.
not all that glitters is gold they say’ such companies are causing even more water shortages and pollution, we dont need pepsi when there is not enough water to go around. The indians know very well about the curse of such companies and its not good news!
Good drinks ya! Pepsi cola tastes like the Old Coke( not the Gong’a one we drink today) just like 7 up tastes like the old sprite(which even a kid could not manage to drink or risk chocking with floth). Mirinda,on the other hand, is just Fanta, only it is in different packaging.
Pepsi can never beat coca-cola, not in the USA not in Zambia not anywhere.There is just something about the coke drink that can not be beaten.
To be honest I feel varun beverages is a welcome addition. Mirinda for instance is a tasty drink. My view is that monopolies such as Zambrew should be discouraged in a liberalised environment. Further having personally visited the plant during its construction phase, one could only conclude that varun is a serious investment. Even just a simple thing like the WALL FENCE, you’d be suprised that being 3.6 kilometres long, thousands of blocks were procured from an indeginous Zambian company. For me that is not only empowerment, but development. Instead of being quick to condemn, let’s partner and take on these giants. It is possible. So, Welcome Pepsi. Welcome
coke is being given a good run they have dominated for a long time. everyone is now going for pepsi or mirinda its cheaper, tastier and more in quantity. let coke sit up they took us for granted for a long time even replacing the bigger 330ml bottles with 300ml then they increase the price
pepsssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss.what a rubbish drink
Once again the LT authors have got the whole story wrong….Zambians will not drink this Pepsi out of curiosity because they know this beverage. it was bottled in those country before under Cadbury Schweppes. Pleaaaaase, do not malign and stereotype Zambians over a trivial things….showing off that you are from the USA where you have a choice between Coke and Pepsi…nigga please!!!
I like Apple Max. The Cola’s just don’t go well with me.
Cabana or Tangy is better..maybe they should bring TipTop or Tarino and Orange crash kaili ba Bwezani balishala muchakale
Its also important to acknowledge that Pepsi, though seen as an imitation, is making so so much money as a business. Whilst we are just bickerring and watching. Pepsi have taken a business risk and they have rolled it out pretty well. Time shall soon come for them to make the money. Surely all of us remember the monopolistic days of the telecomm industry when a cell call would cost $1.80 a minute. That’s what happens in a monopoly.
Good competition to Sabmiller who has monopolised the beverage & beer industry in Zambia.Yes Pepsi is head to head with Coke here.
Coke all the way…!!!!! # 1 why deprive yourself?….you can’t be too careful, there’re other things that will surely kill you, just enjoy life while you can.
I don’t know when you were born Mr. Ngwenya but I hope it wasn’t last night. Pepsi was in Zambia for many years during the KK era and it’s not like Zambians will now be tasting a magical drink only known by those who’ve been out of the country. Give Zambians some slack man, they ain’t that backward.
Who is interested in these stupidy drinks coming into Zambia? Drink them at your own risk.
I have just waisted my time reading this article. Crap!
They are all capitalists anyway
Monopolistic attitude has no respect for customers.Thus monopolies will manipulate their customers by increasing prices of goods and services while reducing on quality and quantity. The taste of today’s coke is very inferior to the coke we used to drink in the 70s. The same is true of fanta and sprite. The coming of this new company reintroducing pepsi and another orange drink is real good development which will help to dignify consumers once more. I am sure Zambian Breweries are thinkig twice unless they have employed people bereft of business ideals.This will also stabilise pricesof these drinks. Have you not seen what has happened to the prices of the lovely chibuku? We were hitherto subjected to frequent price increases within a short period of time.Not any more.Zambia is developing.
I prefer MUCHAPI (FOOD COLOR DRINK)..used to go down with TOBA UMUTWE in those days when UNIP was doing its thing(Developing from our local resources)..
Anyway on a serious note dont you guys think MAHEU beats them all…its more nutritious than COCKI and PEPSI
I don’t like either one of the two (not that i can even taste the difference between the two). But for K2500 one wonders how much that is in $s?????
nga straw iyo ba ALA BEE.
Wesley Ngwenya, you say you ‘have never really been a fun of Pepsi’, why not try to be a fan instead?
This Nigga is giving us scrap………… Mungwi road has a good number of companies that pay huge taxes to the govt e.g Total,Mazembe(Cat), Parmalat,Bp,Caltex,TBZ and the least goes on. Why only picking someone who has just come board to clean someone’s mess. Get a life Nigga and use your PC wisely.
the ignorance of some of you guys does surprise me. i have been to the pepsi production unit officially from the environment council and i am amazed at the job going on. they have a state of art effluent treatment facility which processes waste water of the plant and the effluent water is used for gardening and other purposes and not wasted. Along with this water harvesting which actually collects the rain water and puts it back into the underground thru’ bore holes. and with my own experience i have seen a lot of us zambians being employed directly and even more indirectly.this is definitely very welcome investment which has already yielded good results environmentally, economically and to the consumer. it is the cleanest and most hygenic plant that i have visited in a long time.
and it is not coke and pepsi who have ruined the state of mungwi road! dont forget parmalat, total, bp, zamleather, goodtime steel, tombwe, to name a few culprits!!!!!!!
Oh,how i wish it was a zambian vs zambian brand being discussed here.We wake up to breakfast with milk from kenya,magarine from unilever sold at picknpay,ride a minibus from japan running on oil from arabia sold at a foreign petrol station in zed to get to work at foreign owned zamtel.Did i mention our presidents were born in foreign land too?
Cokes lowers libido
Ah Like Coke!!!!!
8P
Zambian Coke is the best tasting. There is no other coke that tastes better in any other country.
people have a lots of comment &comparison between coke&pepsi,but i would like to let them know about pepsi , if somebody taking spicy food he should take pepsi instead of water, along with spicy food, it has a different feeling as if u are in heaven