PepsiCo India inks deal with Bharti Airtel

Looking forward to leverage the upsurge in mobile internet connection, PepsiCo India signs a pact with Bharti Airtel which goes live 1st September 2020. With an upscale in work from home options and the consequent rise in mobile data usage, the co-branding pact with bring in more sales for the maker of Pepsi Cola and other branded snacks.

The time is ripe for the pact as Airtel’s data usage per customer has seen a sharp rise from 15GB to 16.3GB per user for the quarter ended June 2020.
As per the deal, users of the Sunil Mittal-led telco will get up to 2 GB data free on purchase of PepsiCo products – Lay’s, Kurkure, Uncle Chipps amongst others. The telecom service provider aims to get its branding across its huge customer base via media, TV commercials, and splashing it on packets of snacks. Big names of Bollywood as Akshay Kumar and Ranbir Kapoor have been roped in for the TV commercials to unleash a consumer-focussed media blitz.

Why the deal is set to be a hit?

Packet snacks under the brand of PepsiCo have garnered enough loyalty from customers in the pandemic. The lockdown has escalated the demand for the products as consumers seek these as easy munching options whilst working from home or watching interesting web content. The partnership is set to spell a perfect combination complimenting the in-house experience of customers.

What does this deal mean for customers?

Airtel user base is close to about 280M. As per the pact, approximately 95% of the telco’s customers will benefit from free 4G data on purchase of Rs.10 and Rs. 20 worth packs of Lay’s, Kurkure, Doritos, and Uncle Chipps. The offer goes as –

• 1 GB data free on packs priced @ Rs. 10/-
• 2 GB data free on packs priced @ Rs. 20/-

The bonus of the offer is that the benefits can be enjoyed collectively too! It means that if a family of three with three Airtel prepaid connections buys any of the aforementioned PepsiCo snack foods, they can redeem the free data voucher up to nine times collectively as the offer can be redeemed thrice per unique mobile number. However, the initiative period mentioned is valid until January 2021.

How does it work?
PepsiCo products – Lay’s, Kurkure, Uncle Chipps, or Doritos and beverages will have a free data voucher coupon code printed on the back of the packs. To claim the benefit of the free data Airtel customer will be required to enter the coupon code in the Airtel Thanks app under the ‘My Coupons’ section.

According to Shashwat Sharma, Airtel’s Chief Marketing Officer, the partnering comes as a reward to the loyal customer base to help them unleash the opportunity of experiencing a hassle-free digital world. On the other hand, it will also give a chance to the PepsiCo customers to experience the service of India’s second-largest telecom service provider. A quick glance at the Companies performances – Bharti Airtel, incepted in the year 1995, is one of the leading telecommunication companies. For the quarter ended June 2020, the Company reported a massive sale of Rs. 23,938.70 cr, an uptick of 15.43% during the corresponding period in the previous FY. Under the leadership of Mr. Sunil Mittal, Bharti Airtel retains its top spot in the active subscriber base market with a share of 32.1%.

PepsiCo Inc. is an American multinational snack food and beverage company headquartered in Harrison, New York. PepsiCo entered India in 1989 and in a short period, has grown into one of the largest MNC food and beverage businesses in the country. Laying the onus of stiff competition faced by the multinational giant in India on local brands, PepsiCo’s sales in India fell by double-digits in the 12-week period ending June 2020.
In 2019, the market share of PepsiCo India stood at 19.6%.

The upcoming situation is a clear win-win for both the mega-brands. The unique manner of engaging the customers for Airtel, termed as “clutter-breaking” – is a way of bringing in customers NOT via the conventional manner of discussions around tariffs, plans or networks.
What’s more in store for deals as such during the pandemic, only time can tell!