As The Gatorade Co., Chicago, embarked on the process to relaunch its portfolio of sports drinks, the PepsiCo division conducted consumer research. Just as its athletes and consumers take their performance to the next level, so did Gatorade. It conducted a comprehensive study of 10,000 elite high school athletes, sports health professionals and professional athletes nationwide.
“We spent time talking to the likes of Serena [Williams] and Usain Bolt but also 10,000 interactions with everyday athletes, and it was just so interesting to see how common the needs were,” says Gatorade’s Chief Marketing Officer Sarah Robb O’Hagan. “It was interesting for me to see the words coming out of a 14-year-old football player’s mouth were just the same as a professional player. It was amazing in a way.”