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Pepsi will open a bar-restaurant in New York’s trendy Meatpacking district in the spring, but will it be more than merely a marketing stunt?
The Kola House
The soda brand announced its plans for a new drink and food location, called The Kola House, last week. The name refers to the kola nut it once used for its cola recipe, although it is now probably no longer part of the current recipe.
The lounge bar will serve Pepsi-based cocktails and add dishes that fit the drink or fit the Pepsi lifestyle. To that end, the brand hired the famous mixologist Alex Ott.
Experience area
The Kola House should become an experience and meeting area, perfectly suited for concerts and Live Nation events. The Kola House will not only be a flagship restaurant in New York, but also wants to create pop-up locations at major events, like the Lollapalooza festival.
This way, Pepsi hopes to attract the younger generation of consumers once again. It does not seem likely that Pepsi wants to conquer the hospitality industry, but wants to use it as a marketing tool to rejuvenate the brand and boost its innovation power.
No matter how you look at it, the traditional soda brands have to act somehow as they have been losing American turnover and market share for the past 10 years, losing out to other drinks with a more trendy or healthy image, like energy drinks, smoothies, coffee, …
