Dive Brief:

• Pepsi has created Pepsi Spa Kits to help consumers relax at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to details emailed to Marketing Dive.
• The company launched a sweepstakes on Wednesday to let consumers enter for a chance to win a limited edition Pepsi Spa Kit. To participate, consumers must tweet #PepsiSpa and #Sweepstakes and tag one of their friends, the company said.
• The kits include an exfoliating cola-scented Pepsi sugar scrub, a Pepsi Blue face mask and a Pepsi cola-scented bath bomb, according to the company's email. With its latest branded merchandise, Pepsi can tap into trends around self-care that have emerged during a chaotic year.

Dive Insight:

Pepsi notes that the idea for the spa kits stemmed from the unpredictability of 2020, along with typical holiday stress. The brand crafted the kit items to reflect the soda brand's iconic bubbles, color and textures, with each item in the kit coming in eco-friendly packaging. By releasing the spa kits via a social media sweepstakes, Pepsi can extend the reach of the campaign organically.

Other brands have sensed that consumers are stressed about this year, particularly about the 2020 presidential election, along with the pandemic. In early November, Calm increased its ad spending due in part to the heightened stress people felt during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dove teamed up with Pandora in October to introduce a soundtrack of soothing soundscapes, and Babe Wine sold out of its election night survival kits in late October, which included wine, tissues and a stress ball.

For Pepsi, this isn't the first time the company has integrated a lifestyle product into its marketing strategy. In November 2019, the company launched a fashion e-commerce site filled with apparel and accessories from its collaborations with various international fashion brands like Alexander Wang, Puma and Urban Outfitters. Earlier this year, the brand sent "Tailgate in a Box" kits to homebound sports fans, complete with an outdoor projector, custom cornhole sets and various Pepsi products. Such branded merchandise allows the brand to become more of a lifestyle brand than simply a soda one.