Sep 15, 2020
PepsiCo wishes to help the caffeinated masses to get better sleep with its new relaxation water based beverage
Welcome Driftwell as its perfect to have for night time sleep…bye bye…soda!!!!
Seemingly, PepsiCo has kept its consumers awake through boring classes and many business meetings and has powered its masses in the morning with drinks after all-night partying, now the company wants to help the caffeinated masses to relax and unwind the situation.
A day back, PepsiCo has launched its newest beverage, the de-stressing and relaxation-promoting water enhanced beverage – Driftwell.
The calorie- and sugar-free noncarbonated water, flavored with a hint of blackberry and lavender, contains 200 grams of L-theanine and 10% of the daily value of magnesium. Driftwell sprouted from an employee incubator program in January.
The 7.5-ounce mini cans, with the tagline “Sip into relaxation,” goes on sale online in December, at a very notoriously stressful time of coronavirus pandemic. The drink will be available in US stores in the first quarter of 2021. The suggested retail price is $17.99 for a 10-pack.
“We started this project before COVID, but especially now with all the stress, we’re juggling a lot of things and need sleep,” says Emily Silver, vice president of innovation and capabilities at PepsiCo Beverages North America. “The concentration around sleep wellness or sleep hygiene has massively increased in the last few years.”
Most of the time people are not aware of the necessity to get enough sleep and how important it is for proper functioning of a human body. PepsiCo hypes findings by Gallup and the American Psychological Association in which 55% of Americans report having “high stress” throughout the day, while 45% of Americans say stress makes them lie awake at night, and 21% feel more stress when they’re unable to sleep.
Though many researches have studied about sleep patterns, but amid global pandemic, polls have found that catching enough Zzz’s has become all the more vague.
If we look at PepsiCo’s own earnings reports for answers, over-the-counter sleep remedies are a $1 billion business, according to the company, quoting the analytics firm IRI, yet sleep is elusive these days.
To speak categorically, Driftwell places itself into the broader segment of so-called functional food and drinks, which aren’t new. It’s a trend that Darren Seifer, food and beverage analyst at the research firm NPD Group, expects to continue, especially with everything going on now globally:
“You can have function in the foods and beverages you’re consuming,” he says. “It’s not just about thirst. It’s not just about sustenance. It’s about helping you feel good.”
He adds that functional beverages “are able to provide the taste consumers like in a format that’s convenient,” which may give them an edge in the marketplace. “For the time being, health is more about getting through the day and staying focused on what your basic needs are and providing stress relief,” Seifer says.
Other sleep-related foods include Nightfood ice cream, Dream Water, and Celestial Seasonings’ Sleepytime tea.
The Big Soda is taking hits from all sides as bottled water is now outselling pop; rising obesity rates are a growing health concern; different brands are emphasizing on healthy eating and changing lifestyle choices; and various municipalities around the United States have even implemented so-called soda taxes.
PepsiCo, in addition to its namesake cola, the company’s brands include Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Quaker, Tropicana, Rice-A-Roni, Aquafina, Aunt Jemima, and Sabra.
According to Silver, Driftwell marks one of the Purchase, New York-based soda giant’s first forays into the functional beverage space and one of the first times the company is making a hard claim about an ingredient so well to go with the launch.
Seifer adds that companies will always look for new ways to go where consumers go. “While the biggest behaviors are carbonated soft drinks and juices, they have been losing share to other players,” he explains. “It’s a way to diversify your portfolio, so if the consumers are shifting, it’s within your own portfolio.”