Saumya Rathor discusses being a culture curator and Pepsi's connection to HUEMN

An award-winning RTW fashion brand named HUEMN recently teamed up with Pepsi to celebrate the self-assured empowerment of Indian youth. Pepsi has been bolstering its youth-focused strategy with a variety of campaigns and strategic alliances over the years.

India-born HUEMN sells its products in India, the Middle East, China, Japan, Europe, and the Americas. The company recently celebrated its tenth anniversary with a fashion show where it debuted its newest line. The company chose Sara Ali Khan to be their show-stopper.

Saumya Rathor, Category Lead, Pepsi Cola, PepsiCo India, talks with Sociapa about Pepsi's irreverent SWAG philosophy, the beverage company's partnership with HUEMN, youth marketing tactics, being a culture curator, and more.

What marketing strategies will Pepsi use to reach Gen Z customers and promote the new line?

To honor the spirit of the younger generation, Pepsi, a company that supports culture, has partnered with the fashion label HUEMN on their newest collection. The voice of the current generation has always connected with the Pepsi brand. This younger generation exudes coolness and a natural self-assurance. They don't hesitate to express themselves, and fashion has always been a vital medium for young people. As a result, the partnership with HUEMN to introduce this new collection celebrates this exact philosophy of giving Indian youth the freedom of expression, self-assurance, and tonnes of swag.

Everything from the collection's design aesthetics to our star performer, Sara Ali Khan, a member of Gen Z, who is not only a youth icon but also a living example of Pepsi's irreverent SWAG philosophy, contributes to our marketing strategy, which is aimed at strengthening our relationship with the younger generation.

How will the philosophies of the two brands be represented by this partnership with HUEMN?

HUEMN is a recent homegrown brand that has promoted streetwear for the new generation, while Pepsi has always been a culture curator with a finger on the pulse of India's youth. For as long as we can remember, the foundation of our shared brand philosophy has been giving young people the tools they need to be confident, self-expressive, and inclusive. As a result, the fusion of Pepsi's legendary heritage with HUEMN's excellent design sensibilities and aesthetics was seamless, and we are eager for our customers to see this collection.

How does Pepsi come up with ways to connect with its customers all year long through campaigns and collaborations aimed at young people?

Pepsi has always been on the cutting edge of popular culture. Over the years, we have stayed ahead of the curve and promoted storytelling that connects with young people thanks to extensive consumer research. To remain relevant to consumers as content consumption shifts more and more to digital media, it is crucial to capitalise on topicality through both fixed and fluid moments. To connect with their audiences, particularly the younger generation, which values original ideas, snackable content, and visuals, brands need to have both unique insights and engaging, actionable content. In order to connect with the SWAG generation, Pepsi has identified passion points like Bollywood, fashion, and music. We at Pepsi are dedicated to sharing ground-breaking narratives that will further solidify our relationship with India's youth.

What other partnerships and marketing initiatives did Pepsi successfully launch in 2022?

We have always worked to redefine narratives in the marketing industry with novel ideas. We set out to develop a compelling narrative right at the start of this year in order to capitalise on young people's increasing reliance on technology while also amplifying Pepsi's new "More Refreshing" messaging. To build relationships with the brand's young audience, we employed quirky and humorous content strategies, and our "More Refreshing" campaign was born from this realisation. With the release of "Pepsi Black Zero Sugar," we aimed to cater to Gen Z's growing health-conscious preferences.

Pepsi has always been a brand that has led cultural changes both internationally and in India. Our goal is to adapt our communications to the changing needs of young people. We felt that since Pepsi has a long history in pop culture, we should carry that legacy into the emerging field of NFTs. Our most recent "Pepsi Black Zero Sugar" NFT collection was a tribute to the younger generation, which is heavily reliant on technology and was inspired by the brand philosophy of Pepsi Black. The iconic Pepsi Black "Zero" visual served as the inspiration for the designs of the NFT art collectibles, which were based on a variety of consumer passion points like rhythm, movement, etc.

How did Pepsi's 2022 fare in terms of brand marketing?

Pepsi has always strived to bring entertaining campaigns for its customers through the power of creative storytelling. The company has always been a culture curator. Trends are changing to accommodate virtual experiences that replicate reality as well as a consistent metamorphosis of consumer preferences and requirements as digitalization accelerates. To best meet our customers' expectations and preferences this year, we have also evolved, customised, and personalised our marketing initiatives and communications.

From the industry-first use of "Deepfake" technology in our "More Fizz More Refreshing" campaign to our entry into the world of Non-Fungible-Tokens through our "Pepsi Black Zero Sugar" collection, our innovative and experimental narratives this year have been a testament to our evolving brand marketing strategy.

What fresh partnerships can we anticipate from Pepsi in 2023?

To push the boundaries of creativity in India's marketing and advertising industries, we will continue to run audacious, brave, and disruptive campaigns. Although we don't give out any forward-looking advice, we'll let you know as soon as we finalise our plans and prepare to make an announcement.