Posted in Carbonated Soft Drinks, PepsiCo, Mountain Dew, Commentary, News on Feb 27th, 2008 2 Comments »
DEWmocracy is the name of a marketing initiative PepsiCo launched last November to promote their Mountain Dew brand. This online experience revolved around customers voting on the next flavor of Dew. Read more for full explanation, analysis, and commentary on the flavor selections and game experience.
Posted in Carbonated Soft Drinks, Reviews, Cadbury Schweppes, Root Beer, Kosher, Creme Soda, A&W on Feb 24th, 2008 4 Comments »
Take the flavor experience of a root beer float and bottle it. That's what A&W Float soda attempts to pull off. It's an interesting innovation idea… and one that comes close, but misses. While it does use sugar and skim milk, the resulting taste is so artificial that you shouldn't even bother. Great idea, horrible execution.
Posted in Reviews, Energy Drinks, Kosher, Red Bull, Red Bull GmbH on Feb 22nd, 2008 1 Comment »
Red Bull is the granddaddy of energy drinks, having hit the U.S. market in 1997. It owns 42.6% share of the energy drink sector, yet for some reason doesn't exactly taste very good. It's bitter, somewhat berry-infused, and packs a ton of caffeine (9.64 mg/oz). But will it always be on top? What are your thoughts?
Posted in The Coca-Cola Company, Coke, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero, News, Glacéau, Vitaminwater on Feb 22nd, 2008 No Comments »
The Coca-Cola Company still believes that carbonated soft drinks are the "lifeblood" of the business in 2008. That said, they will continue emphasis on their non-carbonated offerings as well, primarily led by Glaceau Vitaminwater, which they purchased in 2007.
Posted in PepsiCo, Diet Pepsi, News, SoBe, Life Water on Feb 21st, 2008 No Comments »
Pepsi officials noted that they will be heavily emphasizing two beverage brands in 2008: SoBe Life Water and Diet Pepsi Max. This is primarily in response to The Coca-Cola Company's recent purchase of Glaceau and their Vitaminwater beverage, along with the continued success of Coca-Cola Zero.
Posted in Carbonated Soft Drinks, Reviews, PepsiCo, Nutrient Drinks, Tava on Feb 20th, 2008 2 Comments »
Tava is basically a fruit-flavored soft drink from Pepsi, marketed as a nutrient-enhanced sparkling beverage. The branding and design position it as a drink ideal for those living a health/wellness lifestyle, and the "0 calories, 0 sugar, 0 caffeine" seems to support that. For a diet drink sweetened with aspertame and Ace-K, the Mediterranean Fiesta flavor actually wasn't too bad!
Posted in Carbonated Soft Drinks, Coming Soon, PepsiCo, Pepsi, Imported on Feb 15th, 2008 2 Comments »
Coming soon to Mexico: Pepsi Retro, a cane sugar-sweetened beverage that utilizes "natural ingredients", including cola nut extract. Available exclusively south of the border, the drink is another that does away with the use of high fructose corn syrup.
Posted in Carbonated Soft Drinks, Coming Soon, PepsiCo, Pepsi, Imported, News on Feb 13th, 2008 2 Comments »
Hopping on the cane sugar bandwagon, Pepsi has announced a more "natural" version of their flagship cola beverage: Pepsi Raw. "Made from natural ingredients and containing no artificial preservatives, colors, flavorings or sweeteners," it sounds great. Except that it's debuting in the United Kingdom.
Posted in Carbonated Soft Drinks, Coming Soon, PepsiCo, Energy Drinks, Amp on Feb 11th, 2008 No Comments »
Confirmed: Amp Energy Elevate (Mixed Berry), Amp Energy Traction (Grape), and Amp Energy Relaunch (Orange). These 3 flavor extensions of the Amp Energy brand further build its identity away from the original inspiration, Mountain Dew.
Posted in Carbonated Soft Drinks, Reviews, PepsiCo, Mountain Dew, Energy Drinks, Amp on Feb 9th, 2008 1 Comment »
Just as Mountain Dew Code Red is the cherry-flavored version of the flagship brand, so is Amp Energy Overdrive to the original Amp Energy. This is an energy drink loaded with almost twice the caffeine of standard Mountain Dew, while also promoted as containing the head-scratching ingredient of "yerba mate".