Virat Kohli hesitant to endorse Pepsi, may switch to another brand

Captain of the Indian Cricket Team and one of the country’s highest-paid celebrities might part ways with Pepsi and move to a ‘healthier’ brand endorsement. According to Virat Kohli, the increasing harm of canned soft drinks don’t abide by his set of values of achieving champion fitness.

An executive who was aware of the development shared that Kohli might make the switch to another brand, as sugary drinks have come under the scanner lately.

“Discussions are still on with Virat and his team. He may choose to associate with another brand from within the company’s portfolio,” the official said.

By the same token, Sachin Tendulkar, one of the greats of the game, chose to sign a partnership deal with PepsiCo for its Quaker Oats brand. As for Kohli, his deal with PepsiCo technically ended on April 30 and is up for renewal for over a month now. However, from PepsiCo’s part, they are keen to extend the deal as Kohli’s celebrity status would bolster their sales. Kohli has been associated directly with Pepsi for 6 years now.

Regarding his take on the matter, Virat Kohli made it clear that his priority is fitness. In an exclusive interview with CNN-IBN, Kohli said, “When I started my fitness turnaround, it was more of a lifestyle thing initially. If something goes away from that, I would not want to be a part of that or be promoting that.”

Virat Kohli’s priority is fitness

“We are actually on the cusp of making some big changes on that front. Things that I’ve endorsed in the past, I won’t take names, but something that I feel that I don’t connect to anymore. If I myself won’t consume such things, I won’t urge others to consume it just because I’m getting money out of it,” Kohli added.

Virat Kohli is a sought after figure as far as endorsements are concerned. The skipper of Team India currently endorses 18 brands, of which some are Pepsi, Herbalife nutritional supplements and Boost. Other endorsements include MRF tyres, Tissot watches, Puma sports gear, Colgate oral care, Audi cars and Samsonite luggage.

Besides endorsing these brands, Virat Kohli has also direct investments in a chain of gyms called Chisel, a tech startup named Sports Convo, Wrogn fashion and has also partnered with Nazara Technologies for online cricket games.

PepsiCo’s current brand value is at Rs 22,000-crore, but the soft drinks industry has been under increasing scrutiny by both governments as well as health lobbyists. As a result, the sector has grown at single-digit margins in the past five-six quarters. They claim consumers now prefer low-sugar beverages or local brands which sell products that are 15-30% cheaper. To cater to such people, PepsiCo recently introduced Pepsi Black, a zero-sugar cola in cans.