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Pepsi

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File:Pepsico.JPG
The Pepsi logo

Pepsi-Cola (often shortened to Pepsi), is a popular cola, a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo, and the principal rival of Coca-Cola.

History

Pepsi-Cola was first made in New Bern, North Carolina in the early 1890s by pharmacist Caleb Bradham and was originally called "Brad's drink", renamed to "Pepsi-Cola" on August 28, 1898. It was made of carbonated water, sugar, vanilla, rare oils, pepsin and kola nuts. As Pepsi was initially intended to cure stomach pains, Bradham coined the name Pepsi from the condition dyspepsia (stomach ache or indigestion). The name was trademarked on June 16, 1903.

The History of the "Cola" Taste

Whilst some claim that Pepsi tastes identical to Coca-Cola, others say they can detect a difference, either for better or worse. In the past Pepsi used to be even more different to Coca-Cola, and when Pepsi's taste became more popular Coca-Cola adapted their drink to be more similar to the American taste of Pepsi (New Coke) (Source). Although Pepsi claimed this to be a victory for their brand of cola Coca-Cola soon reverted and remains the most popular of the two.

Spokespersons

Main article: Pepsi spokespersons

As with most popular soft drinks, Pepsi and its associated beverages have had various celebrity spokespersons. Hundreds of celebrities have advertised for Pepsi products, for instance NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon, who runs a Pepsi paint scheme at Talladega Superspeedway and Daytona International Speedway.

Criticisms of the Pepsi-Cola product

Suspected adverse long-term health effects of phosphoric acid

Some nutritionists assert that the phosphoric acid component of Pepsi-Cola and other similar soft drinks may be deleterious to bone health in both men and women, with some studies finding the effects to be more notably pronounced in female subjects. See phosphoric acid in food.

Sugar

An excess intake of sugar has been suspected as a contributory factor in certain kinds of diabetes, often co-associated with obesity, to which excess caloric intake (relative to caloric expenditure from exercise) is suspected as a primary factor. Sugar is also a leading contributor to tooth decay.

Accusations made against Pepsi

Coca-Cola was banned from import in India in 1970 for having refused to release the list of its ingredients. In 1993, the ban was lifted, with Pepsi arriving on the market shortly afterwards. One study led by the Center for Science and the Environment (CSE), an independent laboratory in New Delhi, found that the soft drinks contained residues of dangerous pesticides, with one dose 36 times greater than the European standard for Pepsi, and 30 times greater for Coca-Cola. However, this was the European standard for water, not for other drinks. The presence of these products could provoke cancers, negatively affect the nervous and immune systems, and cause birth defects. No law bans the presence of pesticides in drinks in India.

In response to the news, numerous Indians burned bottles of these two brands of soft drinks in the streets. The Indian government asked for a comparable study of soft drink bottles destined for markets in the United States.

On December 7, 2004, India's Supreme Court ruled that both Pepsi and competitor Coca-Cola must label all cans and bottles of the respective soft drinks with a consumer warning after tests showed unacceptable levels of residual pesticides. Both companies continue to maintain that their products meet all international safety standards without yet implementing the Supreme Court ruling.

Pepsi has also been alleged to practice "water piracy" due to its role in over exploitation of ground water resources resulting in scarcity of drinking water for the natives of Pudussery panchayat in Palakkad distict in Kerala, India. Localites have been pressuring the government to close down the Pepsi unit in the village.

Other Pepsi Products

  • Diet Pepsi - A sugar free variety.
  • Crystal Pepsi - A clear pop sometimes also referred to as Pepsi Clear. The original release had a standard cola taste. After numerous complaints from customers who could not stand a clear pop that tasted like cola though, it was re-released with a new citrus taste before being discontinued.
  • Pepsi AM - Containing more caffeine than a regular Pepsi and marketed as a morning drink. No longer produced.
    • Diet Pepsi AM - Sugar-free version of Pepsi AM. Introduced in 1987. No longer produced.
  • Pepsi Avantage - Sold in Canada, contains 50% less sugar. Contains sucralose.
  • Pepsi Blue - A blue coloured soft drink made by PepsiCo and launched in mid-2002.
  • Pepsi Edge - Contains half the carbohydrates, calories and sugars of a normal Pepsi, and is sweetened with Splenda. Released June 2004 to compete with Coke C2, Pepsi Edge has been discontinued in May 2005 due to poor sales. The soda has been featured on an episode of The Apprentice in which teams had to design a prototype bottle.
  • Pepsi Free - name later changed to Caffeine-Free Pepsi
    • Diet Pepsi Free
  • Pepsi Holiday Spice - a limited edition of began on November 1, 2004 in the U.S.A., for an eight-week period (to the end of the year). The drink is Pepsi-Cola with a spicy Christmas/Chanukah seasonal finish of ginger and cinnamon.
  • Pepsi Light - a sugar-free, low-calorie version with lemon flavor introduced in 1975. It originally contained saccharin, but was reformulated in 1984 and from then on used aspartame as a sweetener. It was discontinued in 1988. (It should be noted that Diet Pepsi is known as Pepsi Light in some countries today.) When Diet Pepsi Twist was introduced in 2002, many consumers who remembered Pepsi Light basically think that Diet Pepsi Twist IS the old Pepsi Light.
  • Pepsi Lime - with lime flavoring. Pepsi's answer to Coca-Cola with Lime
    • Diet Pepsi Lime
  • Pepsi Max
  • Pepsi ONE - An alternative to Diet Pepsi.
  • Pepsi Raging Raspberry - test marketed in the early 1990's in Tulsa, OK and other parts of the USA.
  • Pepsi Si - normal Pepsi that is marketed in selected areas to target Hispanic communities.
  • Pepsi Strawberry Burst - test marketed in the early 1990's in Tulsa, OK and other parts of the USA.
  • Pepsi Tropical Chill - test marketed in the early 1990's in Tulsa, OK and other parts of the USA.
  • Pepsi Twist
    • Diet Pepsi Twist (a.k.a. Pepsi Light Twist) Introduced as a diet variation of Pepsi Twist in 2002, most consumers who remembered the old Pepsi Light recalled this drink being the same drink. This is one of many diet drinks that are actually starting to outsell the regular version.
  • Pepsi Vanilla - Released in America in August 2003, it is Pepsi's answer to The Coca-Cola Company's Vanilla Coke, which had been introduced in May 2002. Contains vanilla extract as well as both natural and artificial flavors.
    • Diet Pepsi Vanilla
  • Pepsi Wild Cherry - a cherry flavored variety, introduced in 1988. Originally called "Wild Cherry Pepsi", its name was changed along with the formula in 2005.
    • Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi
  • Pepsi X - contains more caffeine than regular Pepsi and in addition to that it also contains taurine and guanine.


For a list of non-Pepsi products made by PepsiCo, see PepsiCo.

Restaurant holdings

Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and KFC were spun-off by PepsiCo in 1997, as the same company created by Tricon Global Restaurants (now known as Yum! Brands, Inc.). The same company has been merchandised into home originals and other available products and recipes in grocery stores and many other stores everywhere in North America.

Rivalry with Coca-Cola

Coke still outsells Pepsi in almost all areas of the world. Saudi Arabia and the Canadian provinces of Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec are some of the few exceptions. Pepsi had long been the drink of 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 (Dufing 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 bottle one way and Pepsi bottles the other way"). Other regions where Pepsi outsells Coke are in central Appalachia, the state of North Dakota, the predominantly Mormon region in and around the state of Utah, and the city of Buffalo (by a 2-1 margin), all in the United States. More importantly, Pepsi outsells its rival in grocery and convenience stores in the U.S. (regarded as an indicator of consumer preference), with Coca-Cola's dominance in exclusive restaurant, movie theater, amusement park, college, and stadium deals giving Coke the overall sales advantage. In the U.S., Pepsi's total market share was about 31.7 percent in 2004, while Coke's was about 43.1 percent.

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