Monkey see
Oligopolies converge. They tend to use the same techniques, copycat one another, and produce me-too products. The low-carb soft drink market is the latest case in point.
In the past month, the following has happened:
- Coca-Cola released a new lower carbohydrate Cola called C2. That product, which contains artificial sweetener Sucralose in addition to the usual high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and adds artificial sweeteners Ace-K and aspartame as well... C2 isn't low carb by any definition by Coke's. But it has 18 grams of carbohydrates, somewhat less than regular Coke (39 grams). Coke is promoting C2 like crazy. Of course, it also sells a one carb product called Diet Coke.
- Pepsico meanwhile released Edge, a similar product with a mix of Sucralose and HFCS. The problem is that the product has a whopping 20 grams of carbs (regular Pepsi has about 40).
- Cadbury Schweppes has dusted off its long neglected Diet Rite line, a true low carb beverage with only one or two grams, and sweetened entirely with Sucralose. Diet Rite includes a cola and half dozen other favors. Cadbury-Schweppes plans a major TV market campaign, Diet Rite's first.
Aside from the marketing hype, what's interesting is the groupthink among these three companies, which control over 60% of all non-alcoholic beverages in the US. The three companies have increasingly interchangeable product lines. Each company desperately imitates the other in such a way that they might as well be a monopoly. And the companies are so fine-tuned to each other that they imitate one another with no lag time.
9:22:42 PM 
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