Pepsi Max (also known as Pepsi Black in some countries) is a low-
calorie
The calorie is a unit of energy. For historical reasons, two main definitions of "calorie" are in wide use. The large calorie, food calorie, or kilogram calorie was originally defined as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of on ...
,
sugar
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...
-free
cola
Cola is a carbonated soft drink flavored with vanilla, cinnamon, citrus oils and other flavorings. Cola became popular worldwide after the American pharmacist John Stith Pemberton invented Coca-Cola, a trademarked brand, in 1886, which was imita ...
, marketed by
PepsiCo
PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the food and beverage market. It oversees the manuf ...
as an alternative to
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961.
History
Pepsi was ...
and
Diet Pepsi
Diet Pepsi is a Diet drink, diet carbonation, carbonated cola soft drink produced by PepsiCo, introduced in 1964 as a variant of Pepsi with no sugar. First test marketed in 1963 under the name Patio (soda), Patio Diet Cola, it was re-branded as ' ...
. Pepsi Max is still available primarily in Asian and European markets. While Pepsi Max was released in 1993, it was first available on store shelves in the United States in 2007.
A drink with the same name but different formulation (containing ginseng and higher quantities of caffeine) was sold in the United States until it was renamed "
Pepsi Zero Sugar
Pepsi Zero Sugar (sold under the names Diet Pepsi Max until early 2009 and then Pepsi Max until August 2016), is a zero-calorie, sugar-free, ginseng-infused cola sweetened with aspartame and acesulfame K, marketed by PepsiCo. It has nearly twice ...
" in late 2016.
History
![Pepsi Black Lime and Original flavor](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Pepsi_Black_Lime_and_Original_flavor.jpg)
Pepsi Max debuted in Australia, the United Kingdom, and Italy in April 1993. The rollout was expanded to Ireland the following September, and to France, Greece, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands 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 2006 (the US, PepsiCo's home market, and the largest consumer of carbonated
soft drink
A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a drink that usually contains water (often carbonated), a sweetener, and a natural and/or artificial flavoring. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a su ...
s), where one of its principal ingredients had not yet been approved by the
Food and Drug Administration
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...
. The ingredient—
acesulfame potassium—is combined with
aspartame
Aspartame is an artificial non-saccharide sweetener 200 times sweeter than sucrose and is commonly used as a sugar substitute in foods and beverages. It is a methyl ester of the aspartic acid/phenylalanine dipeptide with the trade names ...
to provide the beverage's sweetness, whereas some other diet colas are sweetened by aspartame alone.
In early-2005, Pepsi Max Twist (with added
lemon
The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China.
The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culin ...
-
lime
Lime commonly refers to:
* Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit
* Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide
* Lime (color), a color between yellow and green
Lime may also refer to:
Botany ...
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
PepsiCo has produced a number of variations on its primary cola, Pepsi, over the years, including the following:
Regular Varieties North America
Europe
Japan
*Pepsi Carnival: A tropical fruit-flavored Pepsi available in Japan for a li ...
, 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, Ireland, Norway, and the UK. Known as "Pepsi Max Cappuccino" ("Pepsi Max Coffee Cino" in the UK), the product was prefigured by the similar
Pepsi Kona
PepsiCo has produced a number of variations on its primary cola, Pepsi, over the years, including the following:
Regular Varieties North America
Europe
Japan
*Pepsi Carnival: A tropical fruit-flavored Pepsi available in Japan for a l ...
(briefly
test-marketed in the US in 1996) and
Pepsi Tarik
PepsiCo has produced a number of variations on its primary cola, Pepsi, over the years, including the following:
Regular Varieties North America
Europe
Japan
*Pepsi Carnival: A tropical fruit-flavored Pepsi available in Japan for a l ...
, available in
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
since 2005.
![Pepsi 500ml Bottle, UK](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Pepsi_500ml_Bottle%2C_UK.jpeg)
Pepsi Max was introduced to South Korea, Bulgaria, and the Philippines in 2006, as well as being reintroduced into Argentina in the spring of 2006 after being phased out after its launch in 1994. As well as this, Pepsi Max was introduced into Brazil, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates during early 2007.
In October 2008, Pepsi announced it would be redesigning its logo and re-branding many of its products.
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961.
History
Pepsi was ...
,
Diet Pepsi
Diet Pepsi is a Diet drink, diet carbonation, carbonated cola soft drink produced by PepsiCo, introduced in 1964 as a variant of Pepsi with no sugar. First test marketed in 1963 under the name Patio (soda), Patio Diet Cola, it was re-branded as ' ...
, and Pepsi Max all use lower-case fonts for name brands,
Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew, stylized as Mtn Dew, is a carbonated soft drink brand produced and owned by PepsiCo. The original formula was invented in 1940 by Tennessee beverage bottlers Barney and Ally Hartman. A revised formula was created by Bill Brid ...
was renamed "Mtn Dew", and Diet Pepsi Max was re-branded as Pepsi Max. The brand's
blue and red globe trademark became a series of "smiles", with the central white band arcing at different angles depending on the product. The new imagery is being used. In the case of Pepsi Max, besides renaming of the drink its international name, the logo has a large "smile" likely to emphasize the North American drink's "Wake up people!" advertising campaign, and also uses
black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
in the bottom half of the globe as opposed to the more standard
royal blue
Royal blue is a deep and vivid shade of blue. It is said to have been created by clothiers in Rode, Somerset, a consortium of whom won a competition to make a dress for Queen Charlotte, consort of King George III.
Brightness
The ''Oxford En ...
. The new lower-case font used on Pepsi's products is reminiscent of the font used in Diet Pepsi's logo from the 1960s to the mid-1980s. The website for the "Wake up people!" campaign now redirects to the
Pepsi Refresh Project The Pepsi Refresh Project (PRP) was a 2010 initiative by PepsiCo to award $20 million in grants to individuals, businesses and non-profits that promote a new idea that has a positive impact on their community, state, or the nation. The project is co ...
. It is expected that the version of Pepsi Max outside North America will adopt the new logo used by its US–Canada counterpart; this has now occurred in Australia. In the UK, the cans now have the "Pepsi" text and the new Pepsi globe (with the normal Pepsi "smile" and the blue bottom half, as opposed to the black half used in the US) but the "Max" is in the previous style.
![New Pepsi Max branding](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/New_Pepsi_Max_branding.jpg)
A Pepsi Max Lime version was released in the United States in February 2010 under the name "Pepsi Max Cease Fire" It was introduced in the UK in late-2011. It was cross-promoted with a new flavor series of
Doritos
Doritos () is an American brand of flavored tortilla chips produced since 1964 by Frito-Lay, a wholly owned subsidiary of PepsiCo. The original Doritos were not flavored. The first flavor was Toasted Corn, released in 1966, followed by Taco in ...
chips called "3rd Degree Burn". In July 2010, Pepsi began to move its North American branding for Pepsi Max to match its global branding. It now carries a Max typography similar to that used worldwide, and rolled out a new slogan: "Zero Calories. Maximum Pepsi Taste". Its formula has not changed. In May 2011, Pepsi introduced the drink to Spain. In 2016, the drink was introduced to Venezuela. In 2017 Pepsi Max was launched in Costa Rica
In 2013, Pepsi Max collaborated with English magician Steven Frayne, also known as
Dynamo
file:DynamoElectricMachinesEndViewPartlySection USP284110.png, "Dynamo Electric Machine" (end view, partly section, )
A dynamo is an electrical generator that creates direct current using a commutator (electric), commutator. Dynamos were the f ...
, as part of their 'Live for Now' campaign which was launched the previous year. As part of a launch event, Dynamo was seen in London hanging from the side of a number 543 double-decker bus on its journey along Millbank, past the Houses of Parliament and across Westminster Bridge, while hundreds of passers by watched. The partnership also saw Dynamo appear in an on-pack promotion on cans and bottles of Pepsi Max during July and August, and secured 19 million unique impressions & 7 million total video views on social media.
In 2017, the drink was reintroduced in Belarus, the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, India, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine as Pepsi Black. As of 2017 it is available as Pepsi Max in Albania, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, China, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom and Venezuela.
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 sport
Action sports, adventure sports or extreme sports are activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion and highly specialized gear. Extreme tourism overl ...
s as well as video games such as
Motocross Mania
''Motocross Mania'' is a racing game developed by Deibus Studios and published by On Deck Interactive for Microsoft Windows in 2000, and by Take-Two Interactive for PlayStation in 2001.
Reception
The PC version received "average" reviews, wh ...
in an attempt to appeal to young men (in contrast to other diet cola drinks, which tend to target young women). The British advertising campaign involved retouched versions of the American "Do the Dew" commercials for
Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew, stylized as Mtn Dew, is a carbonated soft drink brand produced and owned by PepsiCo. The original formula was invented in 1940 by Tennessee beverage bottlers Barney and Ally Hartman. A revised formula was created by Bill Brid ...
(A variant of which is sold in the UK), rebranded as "Live life to the Max".
Coca-Cola Zero
Coca-Cola Zero Sugar is a diet cola produced by The Coca-Cola Company. In some countries, it is sold as Coca-Cola No Sugar.
The drink was introduced in 2005 as Coca-Cola Zero as a new no-calorie cola. In 2017, the formula was modified and the n ...
, a sugar-free cola from
The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation founded in 1892, best known as the producer of Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company also manufactures, sells, and markets other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, ...
, is marketed in a similar manner. In the UK, some Coke Zero advertising alluded to Pepsi Max, leading to a counter-campaign by Pepsi extolling the virtues of the concept of "maximum" over that of "zero".
Variants
In early-2005, the North American drink Pepsi ONE was revised, with
Splenda
Splenda is a global brand of sugar substitutes and reduced-calorie food products. While the company is known for its original formulation containing sucralose, it also manufactures items using natural sweeteners such as stevia, monk fruit and ...
brand
sucralose
Sucralose is an artificial sweetener and sugar substitute. The majority of ingested sucralose is not broken down by the body, so it is noncaloric. In the European Union, it is also known under the E number E955. It is produced by chlorination of ...
replacing the aspartame ingredient.
Canadian formulation
Beginning in early 1994, an entirely different Pepsi Max was marketed in Canada. Now regarded as a precursor to
Pepsi Edge
PepsiCo has produced a number of variations on its primary cola, Pepsi, over the years, including the following:
Regular Varieties North America
Europe
Japan
*Pepsi Carnival: A tropical fruit-flavored Pepsi available in Japan for a l ...
, it was sweetened with a combination of aspartame and
high fructose corn syrup
High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), also known as glucose–fructose, isoglucose and glucose–fructose syrup, is a sweetener made from corn starch. As in the production of conventional corn syrup, the starch is broken down into glucose by enzym ...
. As a result, it contained two-thirds 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; the
Diet Pepsi Max
Pepsi Zero Sugar (sold under the names Diet Pepsi Max until early 2009 and then Pepsi Max until August 2016), is a zero- calorie, sugar-free, ginseng-infused cola sweetened with aspartame and acesulfame K, marketed by PepsiCo. It has nearly t ...
product introduced in 2008 has no direct relationship to the earlier formulation.
See also
*
List of Pepsi variations
PepsiCo has produced a number of variations on its primary cola, Pepsi, over the years, including the following:
Regular Varieties North America
Europe
Japan
*Pepsi Carnival: A tropical fruit-flavored Pepsi available in Japan for a l ...
Further reading
*Kotabe, M. and Helsen, K. ''Global Marketing Management'', John Wiley & Sons, 2004.
References
External links
*
{{Diet sodas
PepsiCo cola brands
Diet drinks
Products introduced in 1993
Caffeinated soft drinks