Pepsi Blue

Infobox Beverage
name=Pepsi Blue


type=Flavored Cola
manufacturer=PepsiCo, Inc.
origin=USA
introduced=mid-2002
discontinued= 2004 (Canadian markets)
related= Crystal Pepsi, New Coke
variants=

Pepsi Blue, launched in mid-2002 and discontinued in 2004, was the result of taste-testing over 100 flavors over a 9-month periodRick Aristotle Munarriz, for Fool.com. September 5, 2002. [http://www.fool.com/dripport/2002/dripport020905.htm "Swallowing Pepsi Blue"] .] CNN Money staff. May 7, 2002. [http://money.cnn.com/2002/05/07/news/companies/pepsi/ "Pepsi Blue is Coming"] .] . Designed to compete with Coca-Cola's Vanilla CokeTheresa Howard, for USA Today. May 8, 2002. [http://www.usatoday.com/money/general/2002/05/07/pepsi-blue.htm "Marketers of colorful drinks dye for big sales"] .] , it is considered by some to be the company's second equivalent of New Coke, after the much maligned Crystal PepsiJohn A. Quelch, for Harvard Business School. March 2, 1998. [http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=598097 "Pepsi Blue"] .] . The flavor of Pepsi Blue was thought by some to be similar to cotton candy with a berry-like aftertaste (it resembled that of blueberries or raspberries to some, though Pepsi itself simply described it as "berry") and much more sugary and syrupy than regular cola. It was tinted using Blue 1 [http://www.bevnet.com/reviews/pepsiblue/facts.asp BevNet.com reviews: Pepsi Blue] ] , a highly-controversial coloring agent banned in numerous countries at the time. The move to make a brightly-colored version of the flagship Pepsi brand was spurred by 2001's introduction of Mountain Dew Code Red, which had bumped PepsiCo's Mountain Dew division sales up 6%Theresa Howard, for USA Today. May 8, 2002. [http://www.usatoday.com/money/general/2002/05/07/pepsi-blue.htm "Marketers of colorful drinks dye for big sales"] ] .

Although heavily promoted by PepsiCo (including advertisements by the pop singer Britney Spears [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1NbmvjxWxE YouTube video: Britney Spears Pepsi Blue commercial] ] and the bands Sev [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaxTlnoL6yE YouTube video: Sev Pepsi Blue video] ] and Papa Roach [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhSyuyQPHbY YouTube video:Papa Roach Pepsi Blue video] ] , as well as in the movie The Italian Job), it is widely seen as a commercial flop as sales remained low. Even with the failure of Pepsi Blue, PepsiCo still managed to post double-digit growth. Also, multiple groups claim to be "bringing back" Pepsi Blue, but are so far unsuccessful.Rick Aristotle Munarriz for Fool.com. September 5, 2002. [http://www.fool.com/dripport/2002/dripport020905.htm "Swallowing Pepsi Blue"] .]

Pepsi Blue was promoted after New York Mets games during the summer of 2002, where the color blue was one of the symbolic colors of the ball club. Other promotions included handing out free bottles from a Pepsi Blue themed VW New Beetle at popular shopping centers around the country. Jolt makes a similar beverage called Jolt Blue CX2; a blue raspberry soda in a battery shaped metal can with a flavor often described as like that of cotton candy.

International distribution

Pepsi Blue also was released in some countries as a limited edition during Christmas time in 2003, including Mexico, Panama, Colombia and Costa Rica (but without the fruity flavor). It was withdrawn from the US & Canadian markets in early 2004. Pepsi Blue was later reintroduced into the Hong Kong market. Its availability was short lived in Australia, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland due to its commercial failure there.

Pepsi Blue was released in India, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica and Canada as a limited edition variant during the period when the Indian Cricket Team was having a successful run after the 2003 Cricket World Cup. (The color of their jersey was blue.) Pepsi Blue was released in the Philippines in 2002 coinciding with college-basketball team the Ateneo Blue Eagles winning the UAAP championship. It was also released in Turkey as a limited edition in 2005 but it was, once again, unsuccessful. It was sold in Bolivia as a limited edition for Christmas. It also appeared in Russia as "Christmas special" for 2-3 years, but also wasn't successful. It is still sold in Indonesia and Mexico [ [http://www.pbg.com/about/products_mexico.html Pepsi Bottling Group Mexico production list] ] .

Ingredients

Carbonated water, High fructose corn syrup and/or Sugar, Citric acid, natural and artificial flavors, Phosphoric acid, Potassium citrate, Potassium benzoate and Potassium sorbate (to preserve freshness), Caffeine, Gum arabic, Ascorbic acid and Calcium disodium EDTA (to protect flavor), blue 1, red 40. Contains 25 mg of caffeine [ [http://www.dietfacts.com/html/nutrition-facts/pepsi-pepsi-blue-fusion-of-berry-and-cola-12161.htm DietFacts.com: Pepsi Blue] ]

ee also

*List of Pepsi types

References