Competition:

Mountain Dew, a product of Pepsi Co., has positioned itself as the drink which attracts young
generation who love adventure and sports. Mountain Dew is the drink which advertises itself as
the one which gives more energy compared to drinks like Coke, Sprite etc. Primary competition
includes Sting and Red Bull. Sting, also a product of Pepsi Co., is a carbonated energy drink
aimed to provide energy to consumers to get them going through the day. It usually shows
consumers generating electricity or charging battery in advertisements. Pepsi Co. came up with
this energy drink at a price of Rs.60, a little above Coke, Pepsi and Dew. It positioned itself as a
drink for males who need to work extra hours by providing them extra energy. It was promoted
initially through free samples, now Pepsi Co. makes huge expenditure on advertisements.
Mountain Dew, however, has an advantage over Sting that it complements any snack or meal.
This is a major reason why Mountain Dew is usually available in restaurants but Sting is not.
Red Bull is also an energy drink which is promoted through athletes. However, it does not
promote itself extensively like Sting or Mountain Dew because it is not targeted towards mass
market. It does not pose much threat to Mountain Dew because of the price factor, unlike
Mountain Dew whose can is available for Rs.50, Red Bull sells its can for Rs.250. Mountain Dew
has an advantage over these two drinks because of its availability in different sized bottles
which goes up to 1.5 litres.
Sprite 3G was another major competition that emerged because it was the only citrus drink in
Pakistan other than Mountain Dew, however, it soon went out of business.

Secondary or indirect competition includes Pepsi, Coca Cola, Sprite and 7UP. These drinks
occupy a much larger market share than Mountain Dew because these products are targeted
for all age groups. Mountain Dew, on the other hand targets the young population. However, in
the CSD market, it is the only major citrus soft drink while others are cola or lemon lime drinks.

Distribution:

One of the major reasons why Mountain Dew was able to become a hit in Pakistan was because
of its parent company Pepsi Co.’s distribution system. Mountain Dew uses the same
distribution system and hence has reach all over Pakistan. Distribution plays a key role in the
success of any product because it maintains the image and sales of a product in the market.
Pepsi Co. is well aware of the importance of distribution and hence made sure that its products
reach everywhere in Pakistan. One of the major reason why Pepsi Co. has the largest market
share in Pakistan is also because of its distribution system. Pepsi Co. is also available in all the
rural regions where Coca Cola is unable to reach. All of this is possible because Pepsi uses two
channels of distribution i.e. Direct Distribution and Indirect Distribution effectively.

Direct Distribution is where the manufacturer takes control of the distribution and the product
reaches from producer to customer directly, there is no third party involved. Mountain Dew
only directly distributes its products to the main buyers like Pizza Hut, KFC etc. who make
purchases in huge quantities. Since the company takes care of the distribution, this ensures a
one-to-one communication with the customer which gives valuable customer insight and the
delivery is also made quick.

Indirect distribution is where third-party is involved like wholesalers, warehouses etc. Mountain
Dew first reaches the distributors from the factory who then sell it to retailers. This method
gives competitive advantage to Pepsi Co. and Mountain Dew over its competitors because their
product reaches everywhere. Mountain Dew is able to capitalize on the third-party’s experience
and infrastructure and hence it avoids any complexities in reaching everywhere. Mountain
Dew’s main distributors include Shamim & Co. which uses the spot selling model. The order
booker takes order from the retailer which is then updated in the software and then the
product is delivered to the retailer. Another major distributor is Riaz Bottlers Pvt. Limited which
is mainly responsible for the Lahore region.