PEPSI MAX

'Pepsi Max' is a low-calorie, sugar-free cola, marketed by PepsiCo as an alternative to regular Pepsi and Diet Pepsi.

Contents

History

Product positioning

Flavors

Pepsi ONE

Canada's Pepsi Max

In popular culture

See also

References

External links

History

Pepsi Max debuted in the United Kingdom 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 until only recently (The U.S is 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 U.S. one year earlier.
In late 2005 and early 2006, a coffee-flavoured variety was introduced in France, Finland, Ireland, 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 U.S. in 1996) and Pepsi Tarik (available in Malaysia since 2005).
Pepsi Max was introduced to the South Korean and Philippine markets in mid-2006.
Pepsi Max also outsells regular Pepsi in Finland and some regions of Australia.
Pepsi Max was reintroduced in Argentina in spring 2006, having previously been launched in 1994 and then phased out.
Pepsi Max was introduced in Bulgaria in 2006.
Pepsi Max was introduced in Brazil in early 2007.
Pepsi Max was introduced in Egypt and Jordan in March 2007.
Pepsi Max was reintroduced in Lebanon in April 2007.
Pepsi Max was introduced in UAE in April/March 2007.
Pepsi Max was introduced in the USA on June 1, 2007 as "Diet Pepsi Max". Its ingredient label mentions ginseng, and the drink contains more caffeine (46mg vs. 24mg per 8 fl oz) than Diet Pepsi.^[1]

Product positioning

Recent UK/Australia Pepsi Max television advertisements have featured the taglines "Maximum taste, no sugar" and "Don't worry, there's no sugar." Some have incorporated extreme sports and video games such as Motocross Mania in an attempt to appeal to young men (in contrast to other diet cola drinks, which tend to target young women). Coca-Cola Zero, a sugar-free cola from the Coca-Cola Company, is marketed in a similar manner. In the UK some Coke Zero advertising alluded to Pepsi Max, leading to a robust counter-campaign by Pepsi directly extolling the virtues of the concept of "maximum" over that of "zero."

Flavors

:'Citron Citron Vert': Lemon Lime flavored sold in France.
:'Twist': Lemon Lime flavored sold in the United Kingdom.
:'Punch': Sold in the UK during Christmas 2005. Similar to Pepsi Holiday Spice.
:'Cappuccino' : Coffee flavored sold in Europe.
:'Cool Lemon': Lemon flavored sold in Europe.
:'Chill': Apple flavored sold in Sweden and Finland (limited edition, summer 2007).

Pepsi ONE

Main articles: 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. ''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. 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.

In popular culture

In the Nintendo 64 game Conker's Bad Fur Day and its Xbox remake, , Conker meets a scarecrow named Birdy, who asks for "Mepsipax" in return for a manual. Mepsipax is a reference to Pepsi Max, used to prevent copyright infringement. It is also a play on words, designed to give him the impression of being so drunk he has become dyslexic.

See also

★ List of Pepsi types

References

★ Kotabe, M. and Helsen, K. ''Global Marketing Management'', John Wiley & Sons, 2004. ISBN 0-471-23062-6
1. What's In Diet Pepsi Max? - Pepsi company online nutritional information

External links

★ Pepsi Max (United Kingdom)

★ Pepsi Max (Argentina)

★ Pepsi Max (Brazil)

★ PepsiCo