Crystal Pepsi Is Poised for a Comeback

[mvcg66b3r]

Crystal Pepsi appears headed for a comeback, that much is clear. But details on when and how the 1990s-era cola will return remain murky.

The clear cola was first introduced in 1992 but lasted only a few years. Despite its short lifespan, the drink apparently gained a loyal following of consumers who have lobbied PepsiCo to bring it back.

On Tuesday (6/9), the cola giant sent its strongest signal yet that Crystal might soon be available again by responding to one of its biggest fans, competitive eating star Kevin Strahle. Mr. Strahle, who goes by the name L.A. Beast on Twitter, tweeted an image of a message he said he received from Pepsi that stated: "We definitely hear you and all your followers and we think you'll all be happy with what's in store."

http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/crystal-pepsi-poised-a-comeback/298964/

 

[umfan]

Surprised to hear this. I doubt the reception will be any better this time around.

 

[CTListener]

A clear soda labeled as "birch beer" has had a niche in the New England market for years. Polar, out of Worcester, Mass., is the brand I see most often here in Connecticut, and it's even available in some restaurants. Its taste is pretty much the same as root beer. I don't know why it's clear -- maybe because birch bark is white?

 

[anotherguyTN]

If root beer is like most brown soft drinks, caramel color is added, so it's not naturally brown. That's the case with Pepsi and Coke. Brown has always been the accepted color for colas, so they always added it. They could have made them red, blue, green, etc. I don't know if there was a difference in the flavor of Crystal Pepsi, but just removing the color is no big deal.

 

[Darth_vader]

I'm more looking forward to the reintroduction of New York Seltzer (remember that?) than Crystal Pepsi. Hopefully this will be an honest reintroduction that's here to stay, not just a brief stint to cash in on the stupid hipster "retro" fad.

And use the original formula, not that awful knockoff that Jones' Pop tried to sell under the NYS label for a little while in the early 2000s.

 

[JeffM]

If root beer is like most brown soft drinks, caramel color is added, so it's not naturally brown. That's the case with Pepsi and Coke. Brown has always been the accepted color for colas, so they always added it. They could have made them red, blue, green, etc. I don't know if there was a difference in the flavor of Crystal Pepsi, but just removing the color is no big deal.

Your comment reminded me of when I was a kid. There was a drugstore soda fountain here (if that doesn't make me sound old, nothing will) that served "on tap" a delicious lemon-lime soda that was bright green. I have no idea what it was called, they just sold it generically as lemon-lime, but most lemon-lime drinks have always been clear (7 Up, Sprite, Sierra Mist, etc.)

(Just to tie this tangentially to radio, the common phrase "lemon-lime" tripped up a newscaster introducing an interview with U.S. Army General Lyman Lemnitzer, you guessed it, it came out "General Lemon Lime Nitzer.")

 

[anotherguyTN]

Your comment reminded me of when I was a kid. There was a drugstore soda fountain here (if that doesn't make me sound old, nothing will) that served "on tap" a delicious lemon-lime soda that was bright green. I have no idea what it was called, they just sold it generically as lemon-lime, but most lemon-lime drinks have always been clear (7 Up, Sprite, Sierra Mist, etc.)

But then most Lemon Lime and other citrus flavored drinks like Mountain Dew come in green bottles (although MD is actually more yellow). I wonder if that might have been because there was no good way to color soft drinks green at the time they were created.

My grandmother loved Sun Rise Orange Soda (distributed by Coke in our area before Fanta). At one time she had a problem with her skin turning orange, and the doctor said it was because of how much orange soda she was drinking!

(Just to tie this tangentially to radio, the common phrase "lemon-lime" tripped up a newscaster introducing an interview with U.S. Army General Lyman Lemnitzer, you guessed it, it came out "General Lemon Lime Nitzer.")

That actually sounds like a brand of soft drink!

 

[Yeziknoradio]

just removing the color is no big deal.

It looks too much like 7 up, so people might assume it's the same thing and buy 7 up anyway, or worse, reach for sprite.

 

[JeffM]

That actually sounds like a brand of soft drink!

A lemon lime spritzer perhaps? Your bringing up the green bottles is interesting, maybe the "on tap" soda was colored green to have the same effect, as it was not sold in bottles.

Couple years ago when Mountain Dew brought out "Baja Blast" in bottles; I'd never tried it, so I did. I guess the stuff tasted OK, but the smell of it really put me off. It brought back childhood memories of an industrial floor cleaner stores and schools used here when I was a kid (here we go again...) It was called "Magic Lustre," and the soda smelled EXACTLY like it. Couldn't help thinking subconsciously that I was about to drink detergent...