PURCHASE, N.Y. -- PepsiCo Inc. is launching Pepsi True, a carbonated soft drink sweetened with real sugar and stevia, exclusively on Amazon.com in mid-October. The e-commerce site will sell the new beverage, which contains 30% less sugar than regular Pepsi, in a 24-count case of 7.5-ounce mini cans.
"For more than two decades, PepsiCo Beverages has been on a transformative journey, expanding beyond its iconic soft drink brands to offer top-selling brands for every beverage occasion and every consumer lifestyle," PepsiCo said on its website. "Gone are the days when consumers evaluated beverages solely on calories and taste. Today, a proliferation of beverage products provide consumers a wide range of choices that are driven by taste, sweeteners and calories. … And today, PepsiCo announced it is helping consumers get back to the fun and refreshing side of cola with the U.S. launch of Pepsi True."
Distributing Pepsi True through Amazon.com will give PepsiCo a chance to raise consumer awareness for the product and gauge consumer response before it begins putting the new soda on shelves at convenience stores, supermarkets and other retail outlets, a PepsiCo spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal.
Earlier this month, The Coca-Cola Co., Atlanta, announced the return of its Surge citrus-flavored sparkling beverage--a would-be Mountain Dew rival that it introduced in 1996 but discontinued soon thereafter--available exclusively on Amazon.
"Both Coke and Pepsi are experimenting with new ways to launch beverages," John Sicher, editor and publisher of Beverage Digest, told the newspaper. "The bottling systems do better with more established products. If they [Coke and Pepsi] launch a product and build scale with Amazon before expanding to retail presence and it works, that's a good move."
Click here to view the full Journal report.
Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo is a global food and beverage leader with net revenues of more than $65 billion and a product portfolio that includes 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in annual retail sales. Its main businesses are Quaker, Tropicana, Gatorade, Frito-Lay and Pepsi-Cola.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.