PepsiCo: LifeWTR

How might we innovate to create the next billion-dollar beverage brand?

LifeWTR is a PepsiCo success story, delivering $150m revenue in the first 12 months from launch. With 22 brands delivering a billion dollars each per annum, the ambition was to create a new brand to join these top performers.

Consumers are consuming less soda in favor of bottled water, flavored waters, and other beverages that are seen as healthier and have fewer artificial ingredients. As sales of core soda brands like Pepsi, Coke and Dr Pepper decline, it has become critical for beverage companies to pivot and take advantage of this cultural shift.

The premium water segment of the water category is driven heavily by millennials. Sense Worldwide’s mantra for winning with millennials is: if you’re not creating with them, you’re not creating for them; and this is precisely how we approached this innovation challenge.

LifeWTR was developed collaboratively and iteratively from blank page to launch: from understanding the aspirations of Millennials across the globe, to the development of brand purpose, packaging concepts and naming. In it’s launch year LifeWTR delivered over $150m in sales. As Brad Jakeman President, Global Beverage Group stated at the launch:

Sense Worldwide and The Sense Network have collaborated with PepsiCo over four years to develop an array of new brands and products to feed the PepsiCo innovation pipeline.