Brand stories

For a long-time they were the kings of the soft drink category, but Coke and Pepsi are facing a new set of local rivals. Tutti-Frutti flavoured Itubaína from Brazil was the most impressive performer in 2024 gaining 53.9% CRPs year on year.

The rise of local brands adds a new challenge in a category that is being transformed by a number of factors. There was a drop of 316m CRPs across the category (the biggest for any category in the region) as brands struggled to retain frequency.

A major factor has been the decline in Traditional Trade, which plays a key role in regular purchases and is in decline, but other factors such as health are also important.

Nearly nine out of 10 (89%) of Latin Americans say they have a negative perception of sugary beverages and 38% say they want to reduce consumption in the next three months.

Pringles has defied the demographics to grow across the social spectrum, boosting CRPs even in households where income is tight.

Data from Brasil shows a rise of 6% in penetration in households defined as “Managing” – see definitions in chart below – as well as a 4% boost in those defined as “Struggling”.

And the brand hasn’t forgotten the more affluent. Consumers defined as “comfortable” have seen a five percent boost in penetration.

This strong performance is built on three pillars, local production, which improved affordability, innovation to create new flavours tailored to Brazilian tastes – such as churrasco, cheddar & bacon, and localized cheese variants – alongside globally recognized flavours, and a fun, premium brand positioning.

While the brand has seen CRPs stay level in other markets, in Brasil it is up to 30m in 2024, a significant boost from the 23m in 2023. This success has helped drive regional penetration up 2% and frequency up 3%.

Snickers has become more than just a chocolate and peanut snack in Brazil in 2024. A range of variants offering new tastes connected to local consumer demand enabled the brand to convert more shoppers more of the time.

The strategy – originally launched in 2023 – has seen a range of new permanent and limited-edition flavours reaching the market. These include Morango (Strawberry) – released in January 2024 and Chocolate Branco (White Chocolate) — added in late 2024, which swapped the traditional milk chocolate cover for white chocolate.

It’s also a rare example of a brand growing predominantly through frequency, because while penetration is up 1% regionally and 2% in Brazil, frequency has grown by 11% regionally, helped by a rise in CRPs which are up from 11m to 14m in the region’s biggest market.

While other superbrands have struggled in 2024, Dove has enjoyed the sweet smell of success, gaining more buyers than any other across the region and boosting penetration by more than any other.

The key to that success has been its ability to leverage its large portfolio of variants to boost overall penetration by 3.2% (the third year in a row it’s increased penetration). When we dive down through the variants, we see a concerted effort across the brand range.

Hand and body wash, for example, has grown regional penetration by seven points, deodorants are up five points and hair conditioner has increased by 2.3 points. Shampoo and hair treatments are up as well.

Unusual heatwaves have boosted sales of the bottled water category across Mexico but Epura has been the best performer, reaching 68% of Mexican Households during 2024.

Epura has outperformed its category rivals thanks to two key advantages. First, it’s benefited from a smart penetration strategy and is now present in the main channels driving growth in Mexico.

But beyond distribution, its altruistic support for Mexicans who were hit by a natural disaster in the southwest of the country has energized sales.

After Hurricane Otis impacted Guerrero, Fundación Pepsico Mexico offered support to those affected and the gratitude felt by the whole country can be seen in a 4.0% increase in CRPs.