Pepsi Max
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{{Infobox Beverage |name=Pepsi Max |image=Image:Pepsi Max.jpg |type=Diet Cola |manufacturer=PepsiCo, Inc. |origin=Great Britain, Italy |introduced=1993 |related= Coke C2, Pepsi ONE, Diet Pepsi |variants= Pepsi Max Cappucino, Pepsi Max Twist, Pepsi Max Punch }} Pepsi Max is a low-calorie, sugar-free cola, marketed by PepsiCo as an alternative to regular Pepsi and Diet Pepsi / Pepsi Light.
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History
Image:Pepsi-max-twist.JPG Pepsi Max debuted in Great Britain and Italy in April 1993. The rollout was expanded to Ireland the following September, and to France, the Netherlands and Australia the following December. By the end of 1994, Pepsi Max was sold in approximately twenty countries. By the end of 1995, that figure had more than doubled.
The product remained unavailable in the United States (PepsiCo's native market, and the largest consumer of carbonated soft drinks), where one of its principal ingredients had not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The ingredient in question—acesulfame potassium—is combined with aspartame to provide the beverage's sweetness. Some people claim that this results in a better taste than that of other diet colas (most of which are sweetened with aspartame alone).
On 28 May 1994, England's Blackpool Pleasure Beach amusement park opened the Pepsi Max Big One steel roller coaster. At the time, the Pepsi-sponsored attraction was the world's tallest and fastest roller coaster. (Both records subsequently were broken elsewhere.)
In early 2005, Pepsi Max Twist (with added lemon-lime flavour) joined the UK and Australian product line.
In autumn 2005, Pepsi Max Punch was marketed in the UK for the festive season. Containing ginger and cinnamon, the product was similar in flavour to Pepsi Holiday Spice, a sugar-sweetened variety of Pepsi that was marketed in the US one year earlier.
In late 2005 and early 2006, a coffee-flavoured variety was introduced in France, Finland, Norway and the UK. Known as Pepsi Max Cappuccino (Pepsi Max Coffee Cino in the UK), the product is predated by the similar Pepsi Kona (briefly test-marketed in the US in 1996) and Pepsi Tarik (available in Malaysia since 2005).
Recent UK/Australia Pepsi Max television advertisements have featured the taglines "Maximum taste, no sugar" and "Don't worry, there's no sugar."
Pepsi ONE
On 30 June 1998, acesulfame potassium finally received FDA approval. PepsiCo responded within one hour, announcing the introduction of Pepsi ONE (which reached store shelves the following October). This new variety contained the same sweeteners as Pepsi Max, but not an identical formula or flavour. Interestingly enough, Pepsi ONE was among the twelve brand names that were considered and rejected when creating Pepsi Max.
In early 2005, Pepsi ONE was revised, with Splenda brand sucralose replacing the aspartame ingredient.
Canada's Pepsi Max
Beginning in early 1994, an entirely different Pepsi Max was marketed in Canada. Now regarded as a precursor to Pepsi Edge, it was sweetened with a combination of aspartame and high fructose corn syrup (sugar). As a result, it contained 2/3 fewer calories than full-sugar colas (including regular Pepsi), but more calories than conventional diet/light colas (or the version of Pepsi Max sold elsewhere). The Canadian product was discontinued in 2002.
See also
Reference
- Kotabe, M. and Helsen, K. Global Marketing Management, John Wiley & Sons, 2004. ISBN 0-471-23062-6