Pepsi Twist
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| Type | Lemon-flavored cola |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | PepsiCo |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Introduced | July 12, 2000 June 12, 2001 |
| Variants | Diet Pepsi Twist |
| Related products | Coca-Cola with Lemon, Pepsi Light, Pepsi Lime, Coca-Cola with Lime |
Pepsi Twist is a lemon flavored cola, marketed by PepsiCo as an alternative to regular Pepsi.
History
The first incarnation of Pepsi Light was cola and lemon flavor with 50% fewer calories. It was soon replaced with lemon-flavored diet cola of the same name in the 1970s and 1980s in the United States called Pepsi Light, which was lemon-flavored by necessity to counteract the aftertaste of the artificial sweetener saccharin. When aspartame became more widely available, the lemon flavoring was removed from the newly rechristened Diet Pepsi.
Pepsi Twist was introduced in the United States on July 12, 2000 and again on June 12, 2001.
Pepsi launched Pepsi A-ha, with a lemon flavor in India, in 2002.
Pepsi Twist was marketed in Brazil (with lime instead of lemon), where a limited-edition version was also sold, the Pepsi Twistão, with an even stronger lime flavor.
It's also been released in Portugal as a limited edition during summer, and has remained popular.
In the Philippines, it was released in 2002 and was an instant hit among the teenagers but failed to capture the market.
Pepsi Twist was also marketed in Pakistan in 2006. The product failed to capture the market, but it is still available in some supermarkets.
It is marketed in Romania under the name Pepsi Twist Lemon. It was sold under the name of Pepsi Twist until recently, and its diet counterpart, Pepsi Twist Light Lemon.
It is available in Greece, Indonesia and China.
It was introduced in Poland in the summer of 2002 and in Italy in late 2002. It is still a fairly popular drink in the former.
It was also released in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the late 2006. It is still marketing today, and it outsells the original Pepsi.
In the United Kingdom, the original Pepsi Twist is no longer sold. Instead, there is now a "lemon and lime" version, under the Pepsi Max brand not elsewhere available. This product is called 'Pepsi Max Lemon and Lime Twist'.
In Ukraine, Pepsi Twist was marketed and sold during 2004. In 2012 reintroduced under "Pepsi +1" logo and "Pepsi-Twist" trade name.
Pepsi Twist made a brief return in the Summer of 2008 with the NFL Kickoff Limited Edition Flavor, which boasted that it was Pepsi "with a kick of Lemon."
In Czech Republic and Slovakia, Pepsi Twist was introduced in 2002, its diet counterpart Pepsi Twist Light was introduced in January 2003. Both versions are still in sold.[1][2]
In Latvia, Pepsi Twist was introduced in late 2011.
In Poland, 10 years after Pepsi Twist was introduced, PepsiCo decided to introduce Pepsi Light Lemon.
In Cyprus, Pepsi Twist is introduced in the start of 2014.
Marketing
The product was advertised during Super Bowl 2003, with Ozzy, Jack, and Kelly Osbourne appearing in the commercial, along with Florence Henderson and Donny and Marie Osmond.
It was also endorsed by pop singer Britney Spears in 2002 and 2003 as part of her contract with the company; it also appeared in a promotion with Austin Powers in Goldmember.
The product appears to be no longer actively marketed and does not appear on the list of brands on Pepsi's official website. Pepsi Twist production was ended in the U.S. during the summer of 2006, however the drink is still available in Malaysia, Japan, Poland, Germany, Italy, China and some other nations.
In 2005, Japanese toy company Takara released a special edition Transformers Optimus Prime (known as "Convoy" in Japan) figure in Pepsi colors with a bottle/can holding trailer. Known as Pepsi Convoy, this figure comes pre-packaged with a cardboard Pepsi Twist bottle. This figure was later released two years later in America as "Pepsi Optimus Prime", with some slight modifications.
In 2008, the product was briefly re-introduced before the American football season but was in short supply.
Former professional wrestler CM Punk dubbed one of his signature moves the Pepsi Twist.
Notes
- ^ Pepsi Twist on Slovakian distributor's website (in Slovakian language)
- ^ Pepsi Twist Light on Slovakian distributor's website (in Slovakian language)