In October 2016, Pepsi rereleased the drink in the United States again for a limited time exclusively on Amazon.com through its Prime Pantry service, sold in 8 packs. In March 2015, an online campaign to bring back Crystal Pepsi began. Pepsi decided that now would be a good time to bring back their failed drink from the early 90’s, Crystal Pepsi.I say failed, because even back in the 90’s it wasn’t very popular, so I’m not quite sure why they felt the need to bring it back almost 25 years later, but thats exactly what they did, and I … It was 1993. If you start seeing people walking around drinking Crystal Pepsi, don't freak out. This commercial was parodied by Saturday Night Live with its "Crystal Gravy" commercial. This began with the remake of Ivory soap, whose marketing slogan had already been "99 and 44/100 percent pure", from its classic milky solution. Facebook; Instagram; LinkedIn; Twitter. Crystal Pepsi would be our answer to the momentum created by Clearly Canadian’s flavored water. But this time around, Pepsi believes it got the right recipe. We definitely hear you and your followers and we think you'll all be happy with what's in store. Crystal Pepsi -- gone before its time, but now, resurrected -- does not taste exactly like Pepsi. The interest from this campaign led to an official response by PepsiCo. After the test-market release, it proved to be successful which leads PepsiCo to release Crystal Pepsi in December 1992 nationwide. A large marketing campaign was launched, for which the company invented the world's first photo-realistic, computer-generated bus wrap printing. Both of them were dead within six months.". So, really, what's important here is the simple fact that Crystal Pepsi is back, and it's just as much of a glorious gimmick now, albeit different, as it was when the world first heard the words, "Whoomp There It Is.". Fun fact: This soda was actually developed as a result of an early '90s marketing fad that equated clear products with purity, which began when Ivory Soap released their first clear soap. Pepsi Clear: Clear soda released in Mexico as a limited edition during Christmas 2005, the Mexican equivalent of Crystal Pepsi; Pepsi AM: Contains more caffeine than a regular Pepsi and marketed as a morning drink. ALL RIGHT HERE. Stay tuned.". The original release of Crystal Pepsi occurred in the early 1990s and, in 2016, it was rebooted for a short time and started showing up in soda coolers from grocery stores to convenience stores throughout the country, including our own … It sold out quickly, and that was supposed to be the end of it. The drink was re-released in August 2018, once again being claimed as being the "last chance" to purchase the drink. Compare flavors, get nutritional facts and check out ingredients for all our Pepsi … Its flavor is identical to Pepsi-Cola Made with Real Sugar. If you pound several Pepsis every day, you'll probably enjoy the similar super-sweet cola flavors of Crystal Pepsi without feeling like you've settled for less. Crystal Pepsi is a Pepsi cola flavor that was first test-marketed in early 1992 in 5 cities such as Denver, Sacramento, Dallas, Providence, and Grand Rapids. Back then, Crystal Pepsi's angle was lacking preservatives and artificial colors amid the health-crazed '90s. It smells surprisingly a lot like the dark cola that you're used to, except for maybe the slightest hint of citrus and pine that we may or may not be imagining. Flavorings can compensate for flavor loss during processing, substitute for ingredients, lower production costs and increase shelf stability. Tony Merevick is Cities News Editor at Thrillist and has officially had way too much soda for at least 18 months. Send news tips to news@thrillist.com and follow him on Twitter @tonymerevick. The Purchase, New York-based soda company said the translucent soda will be available in the U.S. and Canada later this summer. Crystal Pepsi is one of those drinks that for some reason really resonated with the public in the years after it's discontinuation and a lot of hype has built up over those years about this infamous flavor of soda. Pepsi returned several months later with a reformulated citrus-cola hybrid called Crystal From Pepsi, but that was short-lived as well. The first thing you'll notice when raising a fizzing glass of Crystal Pepsi is the familiar smell of, you guessed it, Pepsi. Hardly any flavor with no aftertaste. Pepsi Gold – white sapote flavor is sold in Japan, Germany, Finland, and Central Europe. Crystal Pepsi was, while not a commercial success or a taste success, a marketing success of the early 1990s. Where They Went Wrong Today, it's still a marketing thing, for sure, but it's playing on pure nostalgia. We're lucky to have a Pepsi superfan like you on our side. In September 2014, following a Facebook campaign by consumers, The Coca-Cola Company reintroduced the soft drink Surge, leading to speculation in the public and amongst media about the return of Crystal Pepsi. Legend has it that the original Crystal Pepsi was formulated to taste just like normal Pepsi and later gave way to a citrus-flavored spinoff soda... which leads to the question: what does the new Crystal Pepsi taste like? On April 13, 1992, PepsiCo introduced Crystal Pepsi to test markets in Denver, Sacramento, Dallas, Providence, and Grand Rapids, and the product generated a positive response. Unlike the original release in the 1990s, the drink as released in 2015 and 2016 contains caffeine and sodium benzoate, a preservative. Pepsi Throwback. In 2016, Crystal Pepsi made a very brief return to stores as a result of online pleading from fans needing a Crystal Pepsi fix. ALL YOUR FAVORITE FLAVORS. That qualifies it for nostalgia, even though we didn’t collectively enjoy it. Crystal Pepsi has been my fave for over 20 years. Less than a year after the commercial hit the airwaves, the soda was yanked from the shelves. I enjoyed the taste of this, but an entire big bottle was too much. Take your favorite fandoms with you and never miss a beat. On August 22, 2008, PepsiCo filed for trademarks on the product names "Pepsi Clear" and "Diet Pepsi Clear". Although initial sales were good, it quickly fizzled and was discontinued in 1993. Pepsi finally brought the alarmingly clear cola back, lacking preservatives and artificial colors. A series of television advertisements featuring Van Halen's hit song "Right Now" premiered on national television on January 31, 1993, during Super Bowl XXVII. The Crystal Pepsi had a much lighter flavor. Hold on to your bubbles. On June 30, 2016, Pepsi announced that the drink would be making a second return, reaching Canadian stores on July 11, and American stores on August 8, 2016. But the biggest surprise comes when you take a sip, because this new, reborn Crystal Pepsi really does taste like normal Pepsi. Natural flavorings are more expensive to source than artificial flavors, but tend to be better received by consumers. Coca-Cola followed suit by launching Tab Clear on December 14, 1992. On July 19, People magazine released an article stating that Crystal Pepsi would be back for what was claimed as being the final time the drink would be rereleased, on August 14, and that Crystal Pepsi-themed music festivals would be held at baseball stadiums around the US with performers Busta Rhymes and Salt-n-Pepa. Pepsi Ice Cucumber fell somewhere in between the two with the flavor itself being quite unusual but the actual Pepsi product being fairly delicious, albeit subtle. The Soda Wiki is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. Crystal Pepsi is a little more crisp -- like a Sprite or 7-Up without the lemon-lime flavor. But in 2017, Business Insider reported that Crystal Pepsi would once again be available. Crystal Pepsi was poised to become a billion-dollar idea. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. The idea of a clear cola was not unique to Pepsi though, and other versions predate Crystal Pepsi. This variant of the drink brought a whole new set of ingredients to the table. Its marketing slogan was "You've never seen a taste like this". You had regular colas, diet colas, root beer and fruit-flavored sodas. The test marketing never led to a full release due to low sales. Pepsi Fire (hot cinnamon) and Ice (cool mint) Pepsi are found in Guam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines. We got our hands on a 6-pack to party like it's 1993. Love. Description Edit. It even made a recent but limited comeback due to popular demand. It’s basically just normal Pepsi J-Cola, but with an even sharper, tangier flavor. United States, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom, Australia, Europe: United States: Early 1992 - Early 1994, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018. In March 2019, the drink was re-released in Canadian stores for a limited time. Oh, and remember that fleeting hint of citrus? In 1992, Pepsi launched a new colorless soda called “Crystal Pepsi”. Pepsi introduced Crystal Pepsi, a caffeine-free clear cola in 1992. You're safely 22 years later in 2015, the year that Pepsi finally brought the alarmingly clear cola back from wherever the hell we left it. As the Superbowl hit half-time, Pepsi unveiled its latest addition to the cola family — Crystal Pepsi. In the early 1990s, a marketing fad called the Clear Craze equated clarity with purity. Pepsi … The Verdict. On November 1, 2016, Pepsi announced that the drink would be making the third return for 2017. Mouthwashes, dishwashing liquids, and deodorants all … How Kamikaze Marketing Killed Crystal Pepsi. You didn't trip and fall into 1993. See more ideas about pepsi, pepsi cola, flavors. The short-lived cult soda from the '90s returns this summer. Zyman said "Pepsi spent an enormous amount of money on the brand and, regardless, we killed it. Pepsi Clear: Clear Pepsi released in Mexico as a limited edition during Christmas 2005; it is the Mexican equivalent of Crystal Pepsi. Crystal Pepsi was jumping off of a larger fad of ‘90s products that were making the switch to becoming water-like without being water. (NBC New York) Read full story. I gained support from my boss, focus groups provided unbelievable positive responses, and it was even mentioned by Dan Rather on CBS Evening News after a successful test launch in Colorado. This page is about Pepsi, and its other divisions discontinued brands and flavors that was released in some part of a month within the year that they released it, that they meant to be a permanent addition to their line up, but the sales about the flavor, popularity, and the branding about the soda started to fail, and then discontinued for a while after the soda's release. Crystal Pepsi is a variant of Pepsi which is clear in color, similar to Tab Clear. It is everything I hoped it would be - the crisp, sweet taste of Pepsi made slightly tart without the caramel. So imagine sipping a tall, refreshing glass of ice-cold Pepsi—with a splash of nutty, aromatic Arabic coffee. ), Crystal Pepsi stands on its own as a cola. The sweetness is almost as transparent as the soda itself. Full-sized sample bottles were distributed with the Sunday paper deliveries such as the Boston Globe in Massachusetts. Coca-Cola Clear Lime, on the other hand, reminds me a lot of Crystal Pepsi for some odd reason. Crystal Pepsi is a Pepsi cola flavor that was first test-marketed in early 1992 in 5 cities such as Denver, Sacramento, Dallas, Providence, and Grand Rapids. That company's previous clear cola had been a secret one-off made as a particular political favor between Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Soviet Union in the 1940s, to disguise the American beverage as vodka, and was named White Coke. Pleased with the results, PepsiCo began to sell the cola nationwide in December of that year. ...but a quarter-century later, the cry from Crystal Pepsi's dedicated cult following became too much for Pepsi to ignore. Do you long for the days of Diet Crystal Pepsi and coffee-flavored Coca-Cola? Well, except Kimmy Gibbler. "The flavor is based on the Japanese fruit 'mikan' which is typically called a Japanese orange," the product's description says. (Remember Crystal Pepsi, too?) Crystal Pepsi. Unlike previous re-releases that occurred in both the United States and Canada, the 2018 re-release was exclusive to the United States. In 2015, there was a demand to bring back Crystal Pepsi which sparked PepsiCo to release Crystal Pepsi but only for a limited time from 2015 to 2018 on various dates. The gang’s all here. The Van Halen guitar riffs spun out over the ad. In its first year, Crystal Pepsi captured a full percentage point of U.S. soft drink sales, approximately $474 million. But tasting the same is probably not the point, now, in 2015 as much as it was more than two decades ago. PepsiCo announced the comeback of Crystal Pepsi this week. Consumers wanted purity and Pepsi believed a clear soda without color was the answer as it signified purity and health. Diet Pepsi. Crystal Pepsi, which was on the market from 1992-1993, was possibly Pepsi's most famous weird release. Its flavor is a little different than regular Pepsi but with added citrus flavor. Not long after its release, Crystal Pepsi was unfortunately discontinued in late 1994. Beast, who made a 2013 viral video of himself drinking a 1990s vintage bottle of Crystal Pepsi. Mar 15, 2020 - And you thought Wild Cherry Pepsi was wild. Crystal Pepsi returning this summer. By early 1994, Crystal Pepsi was discontinued due to low sales and later reformulated and renamed to Crystal From Pepsi. Instead, it was a colossal flop. Pepsi Kona, a coffee-flavored cola which was test-marketed in Philadelphia from 1996 to 1997. So, imagine the traditional cola taste but slightly watered down. She's still weird. Sign up here for our daily Thrillist email, and get your fix of the best in food/drink/fun. Crystal Pepsi was an effort by Pepsi to reslice the soda market’s pie chart. 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. 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". Crystal From Pepsi was a Pepsi cola flavor that was officially released in stores in early 1994, in the United States. I stalked it, campaigned for it, rejoiced when Pepsi announced it, and bought tons of it when it finally hit shelves in August. Pepsi marketed the new formula as caffeine-free, pure alternative to the classic reddish brown normal colas. “Right Now,” screeched the… https://the-soda.fandom.com/wiki/Crystal_Pepsi?oldid=3217. This Pepsi was released in Japan back in 2007 and was the first (and only) cucumber-flavored soda released by the company, with less flavor than the original Pepsi flavor. Speaking of citrus Pepsi flavors, here’s J-Cola Lemon. Crystal Pepsi was marketed as a caffeine-free "clear alternative" to normal colas. After the test-market release, it proved to be successful which leads PepsiCo to release Crystal Pepsi in December 1992 nationwide. If so, you just might be a “harbinger of failure.” This group of consumers has a knack for repeatedly purchasing flop products, as identified in a recent study by MIT Sloan professors in the Journal of Marketing Research. And we were pretty surprised. This generated enough interest for a telephone and email campaign, garnering around 37,000 Change.org petition signatures, tens of thousands of Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram 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 with a gathering of supporters at a park nearby on June 15 and 16, 2015. Crystal From Pepsi is a variant of Pepsi which is clear in color, similar to Crystal Pepsi. Well, kind of. PepsiCo is merely using Crystal Pepsi as a tool to promote its Pepsi Pass app, giving away 13,000 six-packs of the colorless pop later this month. Tab Clear, Anyone? Crystal Pepsi -- gone before its time, but now, resurrected -- does not taste exactly like Pepsi. By late 1993, Pepsi pulled the drink off the market, and the final batches were delivered to retailers during the first few months of 1994. Pepsi Zero Sugar. After a 22 year drought, Crystal Pepsi is back in stores, and it's not alone. In 2005, a new clear Pepsi was sold in Mexico as Pepsi Clear for a limited time. In response to thousands of Tweets, e-mails, YouTube videos, and Facebook messages, Crystal Pepsi returned to North American store shelves for a limited time in the summer of 2016 and its comeback was met with much rejoicing (and hoarding)! Crystal Pepsi also seems to be missing the same sort of acidic bite you get when taking a swig of the brown stuff, which could probably be chalked up to the key ingredient that distinguishes the two: caramel color. And if you've never tasted a Pepsi at all (that's possible, right? But all things considered, well, none of these detract from the flavor. The lighter color will definitely play a factor in making this stand out for most people. What does Pepsi Cafe taste like? A little more crisp, like a 7up or Sprite but without the lemon-lime flavor. In December 2015, Pepsi announced that fans of the drink could win one of 13,000 six-packs of the beverage by entering a sweepstake via a mobile application or online at Pepsipass.com between December 10 and 11. Winners selected during the following week would receive the beverage in time for Christmas. October 13, 2016 By everybody , aka mind . ©2020 Group Nine Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. By early 1994, Crystal Pepsi was discontinued due to low sales and later reformulated and renamed to Crystal From Pepsi. Crystal from Pepsi: Discontinued (non-cola) citrus-flavored reformulation of Crystal Pepsi. In November 2015, Pepsi hinted on its Twitter page that the beverage would make a comeback. Everything early '90s is cool again, from Birkenstocks, to Christian Slater, to "Full House." It seems to be a blend of Pepsi and iced coffee. Pepsi. Pepsi Holiday – cinnamon is in the US and Canada, and Crystal Pepsi in the US, Canada, Australia and some parts of Europe. According to Coca-Cola's chief marketing officer, Sergio Zyman, Tab Clear was an intentionally "kamikaze" effort to create an unpopular beverage that was positioned as an analogue of Crystal Pepsi in order to "kill both in the process". You might be able to taste it, too, or maybe it's just the soda's clear appearance tricking your brain. The following month, a second and completely separate petition was led by an online competitive eating personality, Kevin Strahle, also known as The L.A. After sipping Crystal Pepsi and regular Pepsi side by side, it's immediately crystal clear that the new stuff lacks the same level of carbonation as the original, seemingly impacting what you taste.