---
title: "From a Sugar-Free Can to a Citywide Craze: How Pepsi Turned Co-Branding into a New Channel Business"
description: "Zootopia 2 has exploded in popularity, and Pepsi's 7UP co-branded cans have taken both consumers and channels by storm. By matching IP, audience, and scenario, Pepsi has turned a marketing event into a sustainable channel business, driving family consumption and repeat purchases."
author: "张雨薇"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2025-12-20"
categories: "Brand Marketing, Management & Methods"
language: "en"
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original_source: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/EQ5zUT4wiHJpGghwYgbtzA"
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citation: "张雨薇. “From a Sugar-Free Can to a Citywide Craze: How Pepsi Turned Co-Branding into a New Channel Business.” New Distribution, 2025-12-20. https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/from-a-sugar-free-can-to-a-citywide-craze-how-pepsi-turned-co-branding-i-e17fe698/"
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---

# From a Sugar-Free Can to a Citywide Craze: How Pepsi Turned Co-Branding into a New Channel Business

> Zootopia 2 has exploded in popularity, and Pepsi's 7UP co-branded cans have taken both consumers and channels by storm. By matching IP, audience, and scenario, Pepsi has turned a marketing event into a sustainable channel business, driving family consumption and repeat purchases.

Zootopia 2 has exploded! As the most anticipated IP this winter, the sequel has once again swept social media upon its release.
But it's not just the audience in front of the screens that's going crazy.
Since October, many distributors have mentioned a similar phenomenon: social media feeds are being flooded with a full row of Pepsi 7UP Zootopia 2 co-branded cans. Many stores have proactively set up themed displays, bundling drinks and movie tickets as "movie-watching packages," and some small shops have even designed photo spots where customers can pick their favorite character cans and take photos to share.
Image source: Xiaohongshu @抹茶味的夏天到了
Xiaohongshu @草莓菌🍓
In today's highly competitive sugar-free beverage market, where co-branding marketing is almost commonplace, channels have become accustomed to most new products. Why has this Pepsi 7UP × Zootopia 2 co-branding campaign managed to ignite enthusiasm among both consumers and channels?
After in-depth research, the author found that this is not a simple case of riding on traffic but a complete strategy to turn co-branding from a "marketing event" into a "new channel business."
When Pepsi Meets Zootopia: Unlocking New Growth in Family Consumption
On the surface, this is a powerful alliance between a leading brand and a blockbuster IP. But whether channels are willing to invest resources has never been about how "loud" the co-branding is, but whether it can bring certain incremental growth.
Pepsi's starting point this time is to lock onto a structurally clear high-potential growth scenario—young families—through the three-way match of IP, audience, and scenario.
1. IP Selection: Family-Oriented Content Naturally Carries High-Energy Scenarios
The young people who were captivated by the first Zootopia are now many of the parents taking their kids to the cinema. The return of the sequel naturally becomes a "family-friendly" event: it offers both nostalgia and sharing, as well as novelty and fun.
Image source: Weibo @老虎发威kitty猫
For channels, this means that during the film's screening period, cinemas and their surrounding commercial areas, supermarkets, and hypermarkets will see a concentrated influx of high-energy "family visits."
2. From One Cup for the Whole Family to One Can for Each Family Member
In traditional cinema consumption, soft drinks are often a "one cup for the whole family" accessory to movie-watching. Adults either take a symbolic sip or skip it altogether, leaving the family's overall beverage needs under-activated.
Pepsi's co-branding design cleverly transforms this "accessory choice" into a "family participation" consumption habit: Pepsi Zero Sugar embodies the brave and determined Judy Hopps, 7UP Zero Sugar corresponds to the witty and free-spirited Nick Wilde, and new characters Gary and Li Bao are also featured on the cans, forming a complete set of multi-character combinations.
For young families, this is both a fun interaction of "choosing your favorite character" and a dual attraction of "movie tie-in + sugar-free drinks," extending the movie-watching emotion into the tasting experience of each can in hand.
As a result, the simple purchase scenario is naturally amplified into "each family member picks one can," cleverly broadening the reach to a wider audience.
3. What's Amplified Is Not Just Sales, but the Breadth of Scenarios
When character cans are tied to the film's release schedule, the product naturally enters more moments accompanying consumers: mall strolls after weekend family movie outings, gatherings with friends and family during holidays, and refueling during outings.
For terminals, this can is no longer just an ordinary beverage in the cooler but a scenario medium that connects high-value family customers, stimulates social sharing, and drives repeat purchases:
Some buy the first can for the photo opportunity, then return for a second can to collect all characters; others buy it at the cinema, and when they see it at convenience stores or supermarkets, they grab a few more.
Image source: Xiaohongshu @Sweet.
In this process, what's amplified is not just single-sale volume but also consumption scenarios and contact frequency:
From cinema to commercial areas, from one-time consumption to multiple repeat purchases, character cans help stores achieve dual growth in "person-times + frequency," laying a stable foundation for future repeat purchases.
From City-Level Hype to a Full "Operable" Business Cycle
With a product that carries emotional labels and family scenarios, a clear path is needed to truly "guide" consumers to the terminal shelves.
Pepsi's solution is to use a combination of tactics to convert buzz into foot traffic while minimizing the execution burden on channels.
1. City-Level Hype: Turning Co-Branding into a Public Hot Topic
Around the film's release, landmark screens, subway stations, and core commercial areas in cities like Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, and Shenzhen successively displayed Pepsi 7UP and Zootopia 2 co-branded visuals, creating high-frequency exposure.
Image source: Xiaohongshu @抹茶味的夏天到了
When the same visuals are repeatedly seen across urban spaces, the significance of terminal displays is elevated—customers entering a store or convenience store and seeing the same character cans as on the big screen naturally have the instant association of "this is the one I want"; stores are no longer just "launching a new product" but are upgraded to ride a wave of city-level hot topics.
This momentum is also clearly reflected in sales data.
A team from a system in the Pearl River Delta revealed that during the co-branding period, IP product shipments nearly doubled, and daily store traffic was noticeably more active—for channels, such a co-branding campaign with built-in buzz and clear sales guidance is more worthy of allocating display space and execution effort.
2. Down-to-Earth Tactics: Turning Topics into Actionable Terminal Moves
Exposure solves the problem of being "seen" by consumers, but converting "seeing" into "taking away" requires a simple, replicable terminal interaction mechanism.
  * Online: Lower the participation threshold with "share co-branded cans + ticket stubs/materials," and use peripheral rewards to strengthen sharing motivation;
  * Offline: Use mechanisms like "buy a package to get a gift" and "stamp rally treasure hunt" to bind participation with product purchase, making "playing" naturally turn into "grabbing a can";
  * In scenarios emphasizing family experience, use a task chain of "parade—photo—check-in—post on platform" to directly convert the play route into a consumption route.
From a channel perspective, this is more like a ready-to-use marketing toolbox: themes, materials, and play paths are systematic, and terminals only need to adjust activity times and prize configurations based on their own situations to quickly apply them. Execution costs are controllable, greatly enhancing channel cooperation and enthusiasm.
3. Full-Chain Operational Business Cycle
A common problem with many co-branding campaigns is "hype first, product later," or "hot online but insufficient offline stock to meet demand." This time, Pepsi has more tightly aligned product distribution with the film's release schedule:
  * Since the co-branded cans hit the market in October, they have been rapidly distributed in large quantities across national channels, giving distributors a window for stocking and structural adjustments;
  * Before the release, concentrated exposure and topic preheating, with maximum shelf display;
  * During the release, layering movie-watching activities, stamp rallies, and photo-sharing gifts to direct cinema and commercial area traffic to terminals;
  * After the release, using vibrant materials and check-in tasks to sustain momentum, driving repeat purchases and creating secondary sales.
For distributors, this is a scheduled business period that can be planned in advance and driven by rhythm, with a start, a peak, and a long tail, greatly reducing the uncertainty of firefighting in response to hot trends.
More Than Just This Can! Pepsi Co-Creates Incremental Growth with Channels
If the product and integrated marketing have built the main road from screen to shelf, what keeps this road warm is the fully activated frontline channel network.
In this co-branding, we clearly feel that when the brand lays a solid foundation and leaves room, channels can adapt with creative local tactics, creating distinctive business opportunities in different regions.
1. Channel Second Creation: Turning Unified Tactics into "Hundred Cities, Hundred Styles"
In hypermarkets and core commercial areas, the co-branding campaign is upgraded into a multi-week "Family Carnival."
Some hypermarkets combine co-branded cans with a "treasure map," designing character check-in points where families can collect stamps and exchange gifts while shopping, turning a simple display into a must-visit interactive area.
Image source: Xiaohongshu @粤闽罗森Lawson
Xiaohongshu @快乐的小馬哒
In convenience stores and cinema kiosks, the tactics are lighter and more direct.
Some well-decorated stores set up a "can selection and team-up area" near the cashier, where customers who take photos with their chosen character cans and share them can get small gifts; others bundle co-branded cans with popcorn and snacks to meet immediate needs.
Image source: Xiaohongshu @Ryu
Xiaohongshu @Yu你岁月安好
In scenarios with a high concentration of family customers, the co-branding is embedded into a full-day play storyline.
For example, Ocean Kingdom brings the "new underwater map" from the film to life, using task-based stamp activities like "animal parade" and "mermaid show photo ops" to string together "buy a drink—check in—post content" into a complete experience chain, making the co-branded can a memorable point of the trip.
Image source: Douyin @百事可乐山东
Some regional teams also use this co-branding as a lever to open new channels.
A sales manager in Shandong shared that they leveraged the Zootopia 2 buzz to get some cinemas that had not previously cooperated to proactively stock Pepsi products, set up IP-themed check-in points and interactive areas, and provide movie ticket benefits for fans participating in check-ins, reaching approximately 80,000 people in a single event.
These seemingly diverse tactics are essentially localized extensions of the same IP assets and basic mechanisms. Distributors and stores are willing to invest extra thought and resources because they see that with the brand's unified plan as support, appropriately adding local creativity can indeed translate into more visible foot traffic, display performance, and category growth.
2. From "Having Fun" to "Earning Steadily": Channel Confidence Significantly Boosted
All creativity must ultimately withstand the test of business. Feedback from the frontline shows that during the campaign, co-branded cans moved faster than regular products, with impressive repeat purchase rates.
Image source: Xiaohongshu @粤闽罗森Lawson
Xiaohongshu @Sweet.
A convenience store owner in South China mentioned: "Many young people come specifically looking for Pepsi co-branded cans and spontaneously share them on their social media."
In the Henan market team's review, besides a significant overall sales increase during the co-branding period, far exceeding the same period last year, the more obvious change was in the consumer structure.
"We clearly feel that the number of young customers has increased, and terminal owners have more confidence in the sugar-free category and are willing to give better display positions," according to local colleagues. During the co-branding period, in convenience store channels, co-branded cans were more popular among consumers than regular ones.
These feedbacks point to the same result: channels are beginning to build a more stable expectation that co-branding with IP heat, complete plans, and room for creativity is worth taking seriously. Because it's not only visually appealing and can "fill the atmosphere" at events, but also sells better and brings visible sales growth, giving them more confidence and assurance when investing manpower, shelf space, and resources.
Final Thoughts
For most distributors today, the real anxiety is not "whether there's a hot topic" but "what does this hot topic have to do with me, and can it translate into revenue?"
In this collaboration with Zootopia 2, Pepsi has provided a clear path:
  * At the front end, use the match of IP, audience, and scenario to lock onto high-potential growth scenarios like families;
  * In the middle, use city-level hype and systematic play design to turn buzz into foot traffic and put tools in the hands of channels;
  * At the end, return creative space to regions and stores, encouraging local second creation so every terminal can play its own game.
For the industry, this is a signal worth noting: brand competition has shifted from whose co-branding is more lively to who is more capable of turning co-branding into a long-term business that benefits channels.
When each collaboration is no longer just a drain for short-term exposure but is distilled into a growth plan that channel partners can understand, follow, and are willing to participate in long-term, co-branding truly escapes the fate of a flash in the pan and becomes a good business worth sustained investment.
And this time, Pepsi is using its own practice to provide a reference-worthy answer.


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## Citation metadata

- Publisher: New Distribution
- Author: 张雨薇
- Published: 2025-12-20
- Canonical: https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/from-a-sugar-free-can-to-a-citywide-craze-how-pepsi-turned-co-branding-i-e17fe698/
- Original source: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/EQ5zUT4wiHJpGghwYgbtzA

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