Crystal Pepsi
Clear cola by PepsiCo
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Key Takeaways
- Crystal Pepsi is a cola soft drink made by PepsiCo.
- In 1991, PepsiCo's risk-taking leadership ambitiously reshaped the company.
- After 1,000 product concepts and 3,000 formulations, it discovered a lighter flavor and appearance, with modified food starch instead of caramel color, and 20 fewer calories.
- Crystal Pepsi was launched in 1992 with a huge marketing campaign and to great success, capturing a 1% soft drink market share worth US$474 million in its first year.
- Inspired by a grassroots campaign via telephone and the Internet, it was briefly re-released sporadically in the 2010s.
Crystal Pepsi is a cola soft drink made by PepsiCo. It has been marketed in the United States and Canada initially from 1992 to 1994, and has had sporadic limited releases since 2016.
In 1991, PepsiCo's risk-taking leadership ambitiously reshaped the company. It pushed consumer research to harness the clear craze and the New Age trend and to find a healthier recipe to stimulate the slowing cola market. After 1,000 product concepts and 3,000 formulations, it discovered a lighter flavor and appearance, with modified food starch instead of caramel color, and 20 fewer calories. It is a "totally new product" which resembles standard Pepsi but reportedly tastes less "acidic".
Crystal Pepsi was launched in 1992 with a huge marketing campaign and to great success, capturing a 1% soft drink market share worth US$474 million in its first year. PepsiCo made some mistakes, and Coca-Cola launched Tab Clear as a deliberate "kamikaze" copy to sabotage Crystal Pepsi, so it was off the market in 1994. Inspired by a grassroots campaign via telephone and the Internet, it was briefly re-released sporadically in the 2010s.
Creation
Background
The Coca-Cola Company had produced a clear cola in the past, produced as a secret one-off made as a particular political favor between General Dwight D. Eisenhower and top Soviet General Georgy Zhukov. Clear Coca-Cola, named White Coke, was produced to disguise the beverage as vodka.
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