Pepsi

Pepsi-Cola

File:PepsiLogo.jpg
Type	Cola
Manufacturer	PepsiCo, Inc.
Country of origin	United States
Introduced	1903
Related products	Coca-Cola
Website	www.pepsi.com

Pepsi-Cola, most commonly called Pepsi, is a soft drink produced and manufactured by PepsiCo. It is sold worldwide in stores, restaurants and vending machines. The drink was first made on August 28, 1898, by pharmacist Caleb Bradham. The brand was trademarked on June 16, 1903. There are many Pepsi variants, including Diet Pepsi, Pepsi Max, Pepsi Samba, Pepsi Blue, Pepsi Gold and Pepsi Jazz.

History

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"Pepsi" logo (used from 1906-1939 in several slightly different variations).

File:Pepsi Logo.png

The eighth Pepsi logo, used from 1991. It was phased out from 1996 in some international markets, and retired worldwide in 1998.

File:PepsiLogo.jpg

The "Pepsi" logo (used from 2003- present).

Pepsi-Cola was first made in New Bern, North Carolina in the United States in the early 1890s by pharmacist George W. Bush. On August 28, 1893 , "Brad's drink" was changed to "Pepsi-Cola" and later trademarked on June 16, 1903. There are several theories on the origin of the word "pepsi".

The only two discussed within the current PepsiCo website are the following: 1) Caleb Bradham bought the name "Pep Kola" from a local competitor and changed it to Pepsi-Cola. 2) "Pepsi-Cola" is an anagram for "Episcopal" - a large church across the street from Bradham's drugstore. There is a plaque at the site of the original drugstore documenting this, though PepsiCo has denied this theory.

Another theory is that Caleb Bradham and his customers simply thought the name sounded good or the fact that the drink had some kind of "pep" in it because it was a carbonated drink, they gave it the name "Pepsi".

As Pepsi was initially intended to cure stomach pains, many believe Bradham coined the name Pepsi from either the condition dyspepsia (stomachache or indigestion) or the possible one-time use of pepsin root as an ingredient (often used to treat upset stomachs). It was made of carbonated water, sugar, vanilla, rare oils, and kola nuts. Whether the original recipe included the enzyme pepsin is disputed.

In 1903, Bradham moved the bottling of Pepsi-Cola from his drugstore into a rented warehouse. That year, Bradham sold 7,968 gallons of syrup. The next year, Pepsi was sold in six-ounce bottles and sales increased to 19,848 gallons. In 1905, Pepsi received its first logo redesign since the original design of 1898. In 1906, the logo was changed again. In 1909, automobile race pioneer Barney Oldfield endorsed Pepsi-Cola in newspaper ads as "A bully drink...refreshing, invigorating, a fine bracer before a race".

In 1923, Pepsico went bankrupt due to high sugar prices as a result of World War I, assets were sold and Roy C. Megargel bought the Pepsi trademark.Eight years later, the company went bankrupt again, resulting in a reformulation of the Pepsi-Cola syrup formula.

During The Great Depression, Pepsi gained popularity following the introduction in 1934 of a 12-ounce bottle. With twelve ounces a bottle instead of the six ounces Coca-Cola sold, PepsiCo turned the price difference to its advantage with a slick radio advertising campaign which was the first use of a jingle in advertising. "Pepsi cola hits the spot / Twelve full ounces, that's a lot / Twice as much for a nickel, too / Pepsi-Cola is the drink for you," encouraged price-watching consumers to switch to Pepsi, while obliquely referring to the Coca-Cola standard of six ounces a bottle for the price of five cents (a nickel), instead of the twelve ounces Pepsi sold at the same price. Coming at a time of economic crisis, the campaign succeeded in boosting Pepsi's status. From 1936 to 1938, PepsiCo's profits doubled.

Introduced in 1964, Diet Pepsi was the United States's first national diet soft drink.

Marketing

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A Pepsi cup.

In 1975, PepsiCo introduced the Pepsi Challenge marketing campaign where PepsiCo set up a blind tasting between Pepsi-Cola and rival Coca-Cola. During these blind taste tests the majority of participants picked Pepsi as the better tasting of the two soft drinks. PepsiCo took great advantage of the campaign with television commercials reporting the test results to the public. Some attribute this to the higher sugar content found in Pepsi compared to Coca-Cola, as seen in the book, "Big Secrets" by William Poundstone.

In 1996, PepsiCo launched the highly successful Pepsi Stuff marketing strategy. By 2002, the strategy was cited by Promo Magazine as one of 16 "Ageless Wonders" that "helped redefine promotion marketing." Source: Promo Magazine, 2002.

Celebrity endorsers

Main article: Pepsi spokespersons

As with most popular soft drinks, Pepsi and its associated beverages have had various celebrity endorsers.

Slogans

• 1939: "Twice as Much for a Nickel"
• 1950: "More Bounce to the Ounce"
• 1958: "Be Sociable, Have a Pepsi"
• 1961: "Now It's Pepsi for Those Who Think Young"
• 1963: "Come Alive, You're in the Pepsi Generation".
• 1967: "(Taste that beats the others cold) Pepsi Pours It On".
• 1969: "You've Got a Lot to Live, Pepsi's Got a Lot to Give".
• 1973: "Join the Pepsi people (feeling free)".
• 1976: "Have a Pepsi day".
• 1979: "Catch that Pepsi spirit".
• 1981: "Pepsi's got your taste for life".
• 1983: "Pepsi's Now!"
• 1984: "The Choice of a New Generation".
• 1991: "Gotta Have It".
• 1995: "Nothing Else is a Pepsi".
• 1997: "GeneratioNext".
• 1999: "Ask for More"/"The Joy of Cola".
• 2003: "It's the Cola"/"Dare for More".

Types of Pepsi

See also: List of Pepsi types

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Diet Pepsi debuted in 1964, and is one of the most popular types of Pepsi. Template:Replacethisimage

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Crystal Pepsi was one of the unpopular Pepsi variations.

There are many types of Pepsi-Cola all differing in taste, price and appearance. Diet Pepsi is one of the most popular variations of the drink, containing no sugar and zero calories. Other popular low calorie variations of the drink include Pepsi Max, Pepsi ONE, Caffeine-Free Pepsi and Caffeine-Free Diet Pepsi.

PepsiCo has marketed many different fruit flavors of the drink including: Wild Cherry Pepsi (1988), Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi (2005), Pepsi Lime (2005) and Diet Pepsi Lime (2005) and Pepsi Jazz diet cola with two flavors, Strawberries & Cream (2006) and Black Cherry French Vanilla (2006). PepsiCo also rivaled Coca-Cola's lemon-flavored products with Pepsi Twist. Pepsi Twist has been successfully marketed in Brazil (with lime instead of lemon), where a limited-edition version is also sold, the Pepsi Twistão, with an even stronger lime flavor. Pepsi A-ha, with a lemon flavor, was launched in India in 2002 but was not successful. Another type, Pepsi Samba, was released in Australia in the 3rd Quarter of 2005; it is Pepsi with a tropical taste of tamarind and mango.

PepsiCo has introduced many variant versions of Pepsi over the years that differ from the original version in either flavor, appearance or both. Crystal Pepsi, a clear cola free of caffeine, sodium and preservatives, was introduced in 1992 and phased out the following year. Similarly, the blue-colored berry cola Pepsi Blue was introduced in mid-2002 to a mixed response. PepsiCo withdrew it from the market in 2004. In 2006, Pepsi Gold was released.

PepsiCo has introduced coffee-flavored variations of the drink. In 2005, Pepsi Cappuccino was released in Romania and Bulgaria with another coffee-flavored cola called Pepsi Tarik in Malaysia and Pepsi Cafechino in India. In late 2005/early 2006 in the UK PepsiCo released Pepsi Max Cino, a cappuccino variant of its popular Pepsi Max beverage.

Many types of the drink have only been produced or sold for a limited time, such as Pepsi Holiday Spice, a spicy Christmas seasonal finish of ginger and cinnamon. Pepsi X is another variation which contains more caffeine than regular Pepsi-Cola and in addition also contains taurine and guaranine. It is similar to other energy drinks such as Red Bull.

PepsiCo markets Pepsi ONE in the US in place of Pepsi X (sold only outside the US and not currently available for import), as both are sweetened with SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, and Pepsi ONE contains 4.6mg of caffeine per ounce without the added taurine and guaranine (Pepsi X has 2.5mg of caffeine and regular Pepsi has 3.13mg per ounce).

Criticisms

Main article: PepsiCo Criticisms

In 2003 and again in 2006, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a non-governmental organization in New Dehli, found that soda drinks produced by manufacturers in India, including both Pepsi and Coca-Cola, had dangerously high levels of pesticides in their drinks. Both PepsiCo and The Coca-Cola Company maintain that their drinks are safe for consumption and have published newpaper advertisements that say pesticide levels in their products are less than those in other foods such as tea, fruit and dairy products. In the Indian state of Kerala, sale and production of Pepsi-Cola, along with other soft drinks, has been banned. Five other Indian states have announced partial bans on the drinks in schools, colleges and hospitals. On Friday, September 22, 2006, the High Court in Kerala overturned the Kerala ban ruling that only the federal government can ban food products.

Iran state television broadcast anti-Pepsi propaganda, saying that the PEPSI letters stood for Pay Each Penny Save Israel.[2] This explanation is unlikely given that Pepsi was named in 1898, fifty years before the 1948 founding of Israel. PepsiCo has a bottling plant in Iran.[3]

Rivalry with Coca-Cola

According to Consumer Reports, in the 1970s, the rivalry continued to heat up the market. Pepsi conducted blind taste tests in stores, in what was called the "Pepsi Challenge". These tests suggested that more consumers preferred the taste of Pepsi (which is believed to have more lemon oil, less orange oil, and uses vanillin rather than vanilla) to Coke. In taste tests, drinkers were more likely to respond positively to sweeter drinks, and Pepsi had the advantage over Coca-Cola because it is much sweeter. The sales of Pepsi started to climb, and Pepsi kicked off the "Challenge" across the nation.

In 1985, The Coca-Cola Company, amid much publicity, changed its formula. Some authorities believe that New Coke, as the reformulated drink came to be known, was invented specifically in response to the Pepsi Challenge. However, a consumer backlash led to Coca-Cola quickly reintroducing the original formula as Coke "Classic".

Overall, Coca-Cola continues to outsell Pepsi in almost all areas of the world. Saudi Arabia, Pakistan (Pepsi has been a dominant sponsor of the Pakistan cricket team since the 1990s) and the Canadian province of Quebec are three exceptions.

By most accounts, Coca-Cola was India's leading soft drink until 1977 when it left India after a new government ordered The Coca-Cola Company to turn over its secret formula for Coke and dilute its stake in its Indian unit as required by the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA). In 1988, PepsiCo gained entry to India by creating a joint venture with the Punjab government-owned Punjab Agro Industrial Corporation (PAIC) and Voltas India Limited. This joint venture marketed and sold Lehar Pepsi until 1991 when the use of foreign brands was allowed; PepsiCo bought out its partners and ended the joint venture in 1994. In 1993, The Coca-Cola Company returned in pursuance of India's Liberalization policy. In 2005, The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo together held 95% market share of soft-drink sales in India. Coca-Cola India's market share was 60.9%.

Pepsi had long been the drink of Canadian Francophones and it continues to hold its dominance by relying on local Québécois celebrities (especially Claude Meunier, of La Petite Vie fame) to sell its product. "Pepsi" eventually became an offensive nickname for Francophones viewed as a lower class by Anglophones in the middle of the 20th century. The term is now used as a historical reference to French-English linguistic animosity (During the partitionist debate surrounding the 1995 referendum, a pundit wrote, "And a wall will be erected along St-Laurent street [the traditional divide between French and English in Montréal] because some people were throwing Coke bottles one way and Pepsi bottles the other way").

In the U.S., Pepsi's total market share was about 31.7 percent in 2004, while Coke's was about 43.1 percent.

In Russia, Pepsi once had a larger market share than Coca-Cola. However, Pepsi's dominance in Russia was undercut as the Cold War ended. PepsiCo had made a deal with the Soviet Union for scale production of Pepsi in 1972.[4] When the Soviet Union fell apart, Pepsi, was associated with the old Soviet system, and Coca Cola, just newly introduced to the Russian market in 1992, was associated with the new system. Thus, Coca-Cola rapidly captured a significant market share away from Pepsi that might otherwise have needed years to build up. By July 2005, Coca-Cola enjoyed a market share of 19.4 percent, followed by Pepsi with 13 percent.

In the same way that Coca Cola has become a cultural icon and its global spread has spawned words like "Coca Colonization", Pepsi Cola and its relation to Russia has also turned it into an icon. In the early 1990s, the term, "Pepsi-stroika", began appearing as a pun on "perestroika", the reform policy of the Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev. Critics viewed the policy as a lot of fizz without substance and as an attempt to usher in Western products in deals there with the old elites. Pepsi, as one of the first American products in the Soviet Union, became a symbol of the relationship and the Soviet policy.¹⁷

Ingredients

	Amount 8 fluid ounces
Energy	100 kcal
Fat	0 g
Sodium	30 mg
Potassium	10 mg
Carbohydrates	27 g
Sugar	27 g
Protein	0 g
Caffeine	25 mg

The Pepsi-Cola drink contains basic ingredients found in most other similar drinks including carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, sugar, colorings, phosphoric acid, caffeine, citric acid and natural flavors. The caffeine free Pepsi-Cola contains the same ingredients but no caffeine.

Pepsi has an average pH between 2-3.

See also

• Pepsico
• Pepsi Stuff
• Soft drink
• Cola wars
• Coca-Cola (drink)
• The Coca-Cola Company (Competitor)
• Pepsiman (Mascot for the Japanese division of Pepsi)
• List of Pepsi types

Notes

¹⁷ The word first appeared in an exhibit in the Harvard University Law School Library in December 1990 to February 1991, then in several articles and books by anthropologist David Lempert, who coined the phrase. Most notable is the third book inside the two volume set, "Pepsi-stroika" in Daily Life in a Crumbling Empire: The Absorption of Russia into the World Economy, Columbia University Press/ Eastern European Monographs, 1996.

References

• Beverage World Magazine, January 1998, "Celebrating a Century of Refreshment: Pepsi - The First 100 Years"
• Stoddard, Bob. Pepsi Cola - 100 Years (1997), General Publishing Group, Los Angeles, CA, USA
• "History & Milestones" (1996), Pepsi packet

External links

• Pepsi World
• Pepsi Americas
• 'Coke, Pepsi losing the fizz'
• 1987 Audio Interview with John Sculley by Don Swaim of CBS Radio - RealAudio
• The Annual Pepsi Independence Day Celebration (Tri-Cities, TN.)
• The Pepsi Max Cappuccino Wire, a fan site to Pepsi Max Cappuccino.