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Crystal Pepsi is a
cola Cola is a Carbonation, carbonated soft drink flavored with vanilla, cinnamon, citrus essential oil, oils, and other flavorings. Cola became popular worldwide after the American pharmacist John Stith Pemberton invented Coca-Cola, a trademarked br ...
soft drink A soft drink (see #Terminology, § Terminology for other names) is a class of non-alcoholic drink, usually (but not necessarily) Carbonated water, carbonated, and typically including added Sweetness, sweetener. Flavors used to be Natural flav ...
made by
PepsiCo PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase, New York, Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the f ...
. It was initially released in the United States and Canada from 1992 to 1994. It was briefly sold in the United Kingdom and Australia. In 1991, PepsiCo's risk-taking leadership ambitiously reshaped the company. It pushed consumer research to harness the clear craze and the
New Age New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...
trend and to find a healthier recipe to stimulate the slowing cola market. After 1,000 product concepts and 3,000 formulations, it discovered a lighter flavor and appearance, with modified food starch instead of caramel color, and 20 fewer calories. It is a "totally new product" which resembles standard
Pepsi Pepsi is a Carbonated water, carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo which serves as its flagship product. In 2023, Pepsi was the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long ...
but reportedly tastes less "acidic". Crystal Pepsi was launched in 1992 with a huge marketing campaign and to great success, capturing a 1% soft drink market share worth in its first year. PepsiCo made some mistakes, and
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...
launched Tab Clear as a deliberate "
kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...
" copy to sabotage Crystal Pepsi, so it was off the market in 1994. Inspired by a
grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...
campaign via telephone and the Internet, it was briefly re-released sporadically in the 2010s.


History


Background

The Coca-Cola Company had produced a clear cola in the past, produced as a secret one-off made as a particular political favor between General
Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...
and top Soviet General
Georgy Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov ( 189618 June 1974) was a Soviet military leader who served as a top commander during World War II and achieved the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union. During World War II, Zhukov served as deputy commander-in-ch ...
. Clear Coca-Cola, named
White Coke White Coke () was a clear variant of Coca-Cola produced in the 1940s at the request of Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov. Like other clear colas, it had the same flavor as the original, virtually unchanged by the absence of caramel col ...
, was produced to disguise the beverage as
vodka Vodka ( ; is a clear distilled beverage, distilled alcoholic beverage. Its varieties originated in Poland and Russia. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impurities and flavourings. Traditionally, it is ...
. The clear craze was a global marketing fad in the 1980s and 1990s, equating clarity with purity. The fad was inspired by the reintroduction of Ivory soap and its marketing slogan of "99 and 44/100 percent pure". In 1990, a Canadian manufacturer released a colorless cola, called Canadian Spirit, which it tested in Boston, New York, Washington, Toronto, and Montreal. Soft drink sales boomed in the 1980s with popularization of diet drinks, but in 1991 slowed to a 1.8% growth rate. Pepsi-Cola North America CEO Craig Weatherup was ambitiously internally restructuring the company while launching a multi-faceted development and marketing plan to expand as a "total beverage company". This included the fast-growing and expandable
New Age New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...
beverage market, with established competition from
Clearly Canadian Clearly Canadian () is a brand of premium sparkling waters produced by The Clearly Food & Beverage Company Ltd., in British Columbia. The brand was founded in 1987 in British Columbia and is widely recognized in United States, parts of Europe a ...
(reportedly having "built a new market in two years"), Nordic Mist,
Snapple Snapple is a brand of tea and juice drinks which is owned by Keurig Dr Pepper, based in Plano, Texas, United States. The original producer of Snapple, a company that was known as Unadulterated Food Products, was founded in 1972. The brand achieved ...
, and the waning Original New York Seltzer. PepsiCo was reportedly "a lot more free-thinking and willing to make errors .. already havingmade some very good errors".


Development

PepsiCo's internal research already had "1,000 different product concepts", but its consumer research demanded a healthier variety of cola, which was the number one soft-drink segment at 60% and yet slowing. Food technologists knew that food color strongly affects flavor perceptions, associating light flavors with light colors. Pepsi's traditional caramel coloring, which adds body and flavor, was replaced with modified food starch for body with a clear look. PepsiCo devised 3,000 formulations of a new clear drink, under consumer testing. A serving of Crystal Pepsi has 134 calories compared to Pepsi's 154 calories20 fewer. In November 1991, Pepsi-Cola publicly confirmed that it was working on a colorless version of Pepsi. On April 13, 1992, Crystal Pepsi was launched in test markets of Dallas, Providence, Salt Lake City, and Colorado to a positive response.Business Digest
and
Bloomington, Illinois Bloomington is a city in McLean County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census showed the city had a population of 78,680, making it the List of municipalities in Illinois, 13th-most populous ci ...
. The Washington Post, April 14, 1992
One month in test markets showed an unusually and unexpectedly strong launch due to product uniqueness and unprecedented consumer awareness. In Colorado, interviews of 100,000 customers further revealed demand for Diet Crystal Pepsi, which was launched there in October.


Full launch

Crystal Pepsi was launched nationwide in the US on December 14, 1992. In its first year, it captured one full percentage point of U.S. soft drink sales, or approximately (equivalent to $ in ).
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...
followed by launching Tab Clear on December 14, 1992. During the same year that Crystal Pepsi was released, several other manufacturers also released colorless versions of their existing products, such as colorless Palmolive dish soap, colorless Softsoap liquid soap, and colorless
Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...
mouthwash. Even the
Miller Brewing Company The Miller Brewing Company is an American brewery and beer company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was founded in 1855 by Frederick Miller. Molson Coors acquired the full global brand portfolio of Miller Brewing Company in 2016, and operates the ...
released a colorless beer, called Miller Clear, in Richmond, Minneapolis, and Austin the following year. By late 1993, Crystal Pepsi was discontinued, and the final batches were delivered to retailers during the first few months of 1994. Several months later, Pepsi briefly released a reformulated citrus-cola hybrid called Crystal From Pepsi. In 2005, Pepsi Clear was sold in Mexico for a limited time. On August 22, 2008, PepsiCo filed for trademarks on the product names "Pepsi Clear" and "Diet Pepsi Clear".


Marketing

Crystal Pepsi was marketed as a caffeine-free "clear alternative" to normal
cola Cola is a Carbonation, carbonated soft drink flavored with vanilla, cinnamon, citrus essential oil, oils, and other flavorings. Cola became popular worldwide after the American pharmacist John Stith Pemberton invented Coca-Cola, a trademarked br ...
s. Its official slogan was "You've never seen a taste like this". Gary Hemphill, public relations manager for Pepsico Inc, said "The basic philosophy behind Crystal Pepsi is this: Crystal Pepsi is not Pepsi with the color stripped out. It's a totally new product. It tastes differently than Pepsi .. which we marriedto some of the attributes of the so-called New Age type products: lighter and less sweet tasting, clear, caffeine-free, all natural flavors, and no preservatives." A senior vice president relayed expectation of forging "an entirely new category that really transcends New Age". Test marketing suggested that 80% of sales would come from non-Pepsi consumers. The goal was to capture 2% of the retail soft drink market by the end of 1993, or about , but without harming the flagship Pepsi product. The marketing campaign included a teaser ad during the television coverage of the inauguration of the US President and of
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...
advertisements. The company invented the world's first photo-realistic, computer-generated bus wrap printing. A series of television advertisements featuring
Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their guit ...
's hit song " Right Now" premiered on national television on January 31, 1993, during
Super Bowl XXVII Super Bowl XXVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Buffalo Bills and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the ...
. This advertisement was parodied by ''
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'' as Crystal Gravy. Full-sized sample bottles were distributed with the Sunday paper deliveries such as the ''
Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'' in Massachusetts. According to Coca-Cola's chief marketing officer, Sergio Zyman, Tab Clear was released at the same time, as an intentional "
kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...
" effort to create an unpopular beverage that was positioned as an analogue of Crystal Pepsi to "kill both in the process". The "born to die" strategy included using the poor-performing Tab brand rather than Coke, labeling the product as a "sugar free" diet drink to confuse consumers into thinking Crystal Pepsi had no sugar, and marketing the product as if it were "medicinal". Zyman said "Pepsi spent an enormous amount of money on the brand and, regardless, we killed it. Both of them were dead within six months."
Yum! Brands Yum! Brands, Inc. (sometimes called simply Yum!) is an American multinational fast food corporation. It is a spin-off of PepsiCo, after they acquired KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell. PepsiCo divested the brands in 1997, and these consolidated as ...
chairman David C. Novak is credited with introducing the Crystal Pepsi concept. In a December 2007 interview, he reminisced:


Reception

In its first year, Crystal Pepsi captured 1% of U.S. soft drink sales, or approximately . ''Beverage Digest'' said "This is another instance where Pepsi has really shown leadership to strike out in a new direction." Crystal Pepsi was named Best New Product of the Year for 1992 by Richard Saunders International, based on consumer preference polls among 16,000 new grocery products, scoring higher than any other beverage in the poll's history. Robert McMath, editor of ''Brand Week'', said that "new sells ndclarity equals purity" but he doubted the strategy of positioning such a new and different product directly alongside the old flagship product.


Consumer revival

In September 2014, following a
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campaign by consumers,
The Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational corporation founded in 1892. It manufactures, sells and markets soft drinks including Coca-Cola, other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, and alcoholic beverages. Its stock is lis ...
reintroduced the soft drink Surge, leading to speculation in the public and media about the return of Crystal Pepsi. In March 2015, an online
grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...
campaign began to bring back Crystal Pepsi. The following month, a second, separate petition was led by an online
competitive eating Competitive eating, or speed eating, is a sport in which participants compete against each other to eat large quantities of food, usually in a short time period. Contests are typically eight to ten minutes long, although some competitions can l ...
personality, Kevin Strahle, also known as The
L.A. Beast Kevin Thomas Strahle (born January 6, 1984), better known as the L.A. Beast, is an American professional competitive eater who hosts a challenge-based channel on YouTube. Strahle started making videos in his hometown of Ridgewood, New Jersey, ...
, who had made a 2013
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of himself drinking a 1990s vintage bottle of Crystal Pepsi. This generated enough interest for a telephone and
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campaign, garnering around 37,000 Change.org petition signatures, tens of thousands of
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,
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, and
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tagged comments, 15 billboards erected around the Los Angeles area, and a commitment to ride a mobile billboard truck at Pepsi's headquarters in
Purchase, New York Purchase is a hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set ...
with a gathering of supporters at a park nearby on June 15 and 16, 2015. The interest from this campaign led to an official response to Strahle by PepsiCo on June 8, 2015: "We've had customers ask us to bring back their favorite products before, but never with your level of enthusiasm and humor. We're lucky to have a Pepsi superfan like you on our side. We definitely hear you and your followers and we think you'll all be happy with what's in store. Stay tuned." In mid-2016, Crystal Pepsi was released for a limited time across the United States and Canada, promoted with a retro styled website and marketing video, including ''The Crystal Pepsi Trail''
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as an officially licensed parody of the classic ''The Oregon Trail''.


See also

* Coca-Cola Clear *
List of defunct consumer brands This is a list of defunct (mainly American) consumer brands which are no longer made and usually no longer Mass marketing, mass-marketed to consumers. Brands in this list may still be made, but are only made in modest quantities and/or limited runs ...
* List of Pepsi types *
New Coke New Coke was the unofficial name of a reformulation of the soft drink Coca-Cola, introduced by the Coca-Cola Company in April 1985. It was renamed Coke II in 1990, and discontinued in July 2002. By 1985, Coca-Cola had been losing market share to ...
*
Zima The Zimbabwe Music Awards (ZIMA) is an annual award ceremony to acknowledge and honor musical excellence and creativity in Zimbabwean music. References External links * https://zimmusicawards.co.zw * Music of Zimbabwe African music awa ...


References

{{Varieties of Pepsi PepsiCo cola brands Products introduced in 1992