OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

To compare the marketing strategies of Pepsi and Coke Company. To know and compare the merchandising of Pepsi and coke in retail outlets. To identify the retailers opinion towards Pepsi products when compared to coke products. To offer some findings and suggestions to the company for the improvement of its performance.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

In the present scenario the competitions between the soft drinks has increased. The companies are struggling a lot to keep up their market share in the industry and to improve the sales of their products i.e. the turnover of the company. For this the company has to know their position in the market and the opinion and the loyalty of the customers and the retailers when compared to their competitor. Because of this reason the comparative analysis is very important and useful to the Company. By the use of comparative analysis the companies can understand the will help to plans for the future to increase the performance of the company and to gain the loyalty of the retailers when compared to the competitors. Through this study the position of the company and the strength of the company in the market. Through the competitive analysis we can understand that what strategies the competitors are using for the increase their sales volume. From the study we can gather the information regarding the opinion of the retailers on the companies comparatively and this investigator got the personal experience in the market field. He can implement his theoretical knowledge in to practice. He can know how the companies are competing with each other to sustain in the market in this tough competitive world. Hence I felt that there is a need for the study. However, this type of study has not been carried out earlier by any investigator.

CONCEPTUALIZATION OF THE STDY

Born in the Carolinas in 1898, Pepsi-Cola has a long and rich history. The drink is the invention of Caleb Bradham, a pharmacist and drugstore owner in New Bern, North Carolina. The summer of 1898, as usual, was hot and humid in New Bern, North Carolina. So a young pharmacist named Caleb Bradham began experimenting with combinations of spices, juices, and syrups trying to create a refreshing new drink to serve his customers. He succeeded beyond all expectations because he invented the beverage known around the world as Pepsi-Cola. Caleb Bradham knew that to keep people returning to his pharmacy, he would have to turn it into a gathering place. He did so by concocting his own special beverage, a soft drink. His creation, a unique mixture of kola nut extract, vanilla and rare oils, became so popular his customers named it "Brad's Drink." Caleb decided to rename it "Pepsi-Cola," and advertised his new soft drink. People responded, and sales of Pepsi-Cola started to grow, convincing him that he should form a company to market the new beverage. In 1902, he launched the Pepsi-Cola Company in the back room of his pharmacy, and applied to the U.S. Patent Office for a trademark. At first, he mixed the syrup himself and sold it exclusively through soda fountains. But soon Caleb recognized that a greater opportunity existed to bottle Pepsi so that people could drink it anywhere. The business began to grow, and on June 16, 1903, "Pepsi-Cola" was officially registered with the U.S. Patent Office. That year, Caleb sold 7,968 gallons of syrup, using the theme line "Exhilarating, Invigorating, Aids Digestion." He also began awarding franchises to bottle Pepsi to independent investors, whose number grew from just two in 1905, in the cities of Charlotte and Durham, North Carolina, to 15 the following year, and 40 by 1907. By the end of 1910, there were Pepsi-Cola franchises in 24 states. Pepsi-Cola's first bottling line resulted from some less-than-sophisticated engineering in the back room of Caleb's pharmacy. Building a strong franchise system was one of Caleb's greatest achievements. Local Pepsi-Cola bottlers, entrepreneurial in spirit and dedicated to the product's success, provided a sturdy foundation. They were the cornerstones of the Pepsi-Cola enterprise. By 1907, the new company was selling more than 100,000 gallons of syrup per year. Growth was phenomenal, and in 1909 Caleb erected a headquarters so spectacular that the town of New Bern pictured it on a postcard.

Famous racing car driver Barney Oldfield endorsed Pepsi in newspaper ads as "A bully drink...refreshing, invigorating, a fine bracer before a race." The previous year, Pepsi had been one of the first companies in the United States to switch from horse-drawn transport to motor vehicles, and Caleb's business expertise captured widespread attention. He was even mentioned as a possible candidate for Governor. A 1913 editorial in the Greensboro Patriot praised him for his "keen and energetic business sense." Pepsi-Cola enjoyed 17 unbroken years of success. Caleb now promoted Pepsi sales with the slogan, "Drink Pepsi-Cola. It will satisfy you." Then came World War I, and the cost of doing business increased drastically. Sugar prices see sawed between record highs and disastrous lows, and so did the price of producing Pepsi-Cola. After seventeen years of success, Caleb Bradham lost Pepsi Cola. He had gambled on the fluctuations of sugar prices during WORLD WAR I, believing that sugar prices would continue to rise but they fell instead leaving Caleb Bradham with an overpriced sugar inventory. Pepsi Cola went bankrupt in 1923.In 1931, the Loft Candy Company Loft president, Charles G. Guth who reformulated the popular soft drink, bought Pepsi Cola. In 1940, history was made when the first advertising jingle was broadcast nationally. The jingle was "Nickel Nickel" an advertisement for Pepsi Cola that referred to the price of Pepsi and the quantity for that price. "Nickel Nickel" became a hit record and was recorded into fifty-five languages. In 1965 Pepsi-cola Company and Frito-Lay, Inc. merged which results in the formation of today know PepsiCo, Inc.

FOCUS OF THE STUDY

There is vast scope of marketing strategies of comparison between Pepsi and Coke. The fierce brand loyalties of Coke vs. Pepsi are a marvel of American marketing. Slightly older, Coca-Cola was always the dominant brand. Pepsi gained market share in the middle of the century with a series of ad campaigns. In 1975 the first Pepsi Challenge claimed that people preferred Pepsi in a blind taste test. The brand was also marketed as the soda of the new generation, with celebrity spokespeople like Michael Jackson. Today America's preference is firmly divided by demographics, according to research by Hunch.com. Surprisingly there's a big divide based on wealth and education.

LITERATURE REVIEW Article 1 November 14, 2012

Motley Fool Analyst Blake Bos tells us how Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are doing battle in various ways in some of the worlds emerging markets. We hear how Pepsi's cost-effective approach at challenging the already well-established Coke in China may or may not pay off big, and how, after 60 years of America's companies being unable to do business in Myanmar (also known as Burma), Coke is entering the Burmese market, with Pepsi hot on its heels. Finally, we hear about another little soda company from Israel that takes a very different approach and may be a disrupter for the big guys.

Article 2 November 12, 2012

The soft-drink maker has opened new factories and sought to expand its distribution footprint in China over the past year to narrow the gap with market leader Coca-Cola Co. (KO)PepsiCo, the maker of Tropicana juice drinks and Lays potato chips, announced a bottling tie-up with Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Holding Corp. Last November. PepsiCo is seeing market share gains from the deal, Greater China Chairman Tim Minges said in Shanghai today, without elaborating.

Article 3 October 24, 2012

Bravo is developing a drama that could be billed as "Mad Men" in the '80s. According to Deadline.com, the show will be based on the Coke vs. Pepsi advertising wars. Seriously. "Flipping Out" executive producer/show runner Andrew Hoegl wrote the script and its just the latest scripted show Bravo has put in development. The network primarily known for its reality TV hits such as "The Real Housewives" franchise has been developing scripted projects for years, but none have made it to air.

Article 4 October16, 2012

After being admittedly bearish on the product in the past, Austin concedes that the stock is remarkably cheap for all the growth it's putting up today. With no debt, a winning model, and the right relationships in the supply chain, there are a lot of things to love about Soda Stream today. Our premium report will help you make that decision by discussing the opportunities and threats every investor needs to be aware of.

Article 5 September4, 2012

I still find it hilarious that Coca-Cola was invented as a health drink. Its as if someone set out to invent a device to restore life and vitality to ailing opossums and somehow created the first semi truck. Theres a lot of current and historical disagreement as to what constitutes an optimal diet, but carbonated sugar water has been off the list since about 1902. This hasnt stopped Coke and other soft-drink companies from hitching their wagons to assorted health trends. Around 1958, Royal Crown Cola decided that the way to make cola more healthful was to add more artificial chemicals to it, and thus Diet Rite was torn from the earth. Thus, Coke and Pepsi started selling Diet.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Research is the investigation of a particular topic using a variety of reliable, scholarly resources. The three major goals of research are establishing facts, analyzing information, and reaching new conclusions. The three main acts of doing research are searching for, reviewing, and evaluating information. Learning what research is not may help you fully grasp the concept. Randomly selecting books from the library is not research, nor is surfing the Internet. On the contrary, research requires organization, resourcefulness, reflection, synthesis, and above all, time. Data Data can be defined as the quantitative or qualitative values of a variable. Data is plural of Datum which literally means to give or something given. Primary Secondary ::Through Questionnaires Through Internet, Journals, News papers and Misc. Survey Structured Questionnaire. 200 Work had done in Delhi regional Office Random sampling. Exploratory

Data Collection Procedure: Research Instrument: Sample Size: Sample Area: Sample procedure: Research design used-