Americans are slowly losing our taste for fizzy sugar water, but PepsiCo may have overestimated how quickly that’s happening. The company admits that it spent the third quarter stuffing shelves with more “healthy” products than the public was ready for. [More]
soft drinks
Philadelphia Learns That Soda Tax May Be A Bad Long-Term School Funding Solution
By 8.22.17
Here’s the problem with “sin” taxes, like those on alcohol, tobacco, and fizzy beverages: You can use those taxes to raise money for a specific purpose, or to encourage citizens to consume less of the thing being taxed, but you can’t hope for both. That’s what Philadelphia has learned as its tax on sweetened beverages has failed to raise as much money as the city hoped. [More]
Coca-Cola: Dead Mouse Was Too Fresh To Be Found In A Coke Can
By 4.27.17
A South Dakota man claims he purchased — and drank from — a can of Coca-Cola that had a mouse sealed inside, making him ill and causing him to miss work. But the Coke folks say this just isn’t possible, since a mouse sealed in a soft drink can would have been more decomposed. [More]
IHOP, Applebee’s Remove Sugary Drinks From Children’s Menu
By 12.1.15
Two national full-service restaurants are joining the slew of fast food establishments like McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King and Dairy Queen in dumping sugary drinks from the kid’s menu: Applebee’s and IHOP are the latest eateries to embrace the soda-less trend. [More]
Pepsi To Appeal To Different Set Of Millennials With New “1893” Cola
By 11.5.15
Mention any cool brand to a bona fide hipster and you’ll inevitably get an earful about how that product sucks now and was so much better blah blah blah. But even the oldest hipster still hanging on to the refurbished sugar warehouse “space” his parents bought him two decades ago isn’t old enough to remember the original Pepsi formula. [More]
Health Group Remakes Iconic Coke Ad With People Suffering From Soda-Related Diseases
By 6.23.15
From fast food restaurants removing sugary drinks from kid’s menus to city governments considering taxes on soda, the soft drink industry has been the target of a crusade to end – or at the very least reduce – consumers’ love affair with fizzy, sugar-laden drinks and raise awareness of the negative impact such calorie-filled beverages have on one’s health. Today that mission continued with the release of a video that aims to curtail the incidence of soda-related disease by turning the most iconic soft drink commercial on its head. [More]
Dairy Queen To Remove Soda From Kids’ Menu By Sept. 1
By 5.14.15
Taking the lead from other fast food restaurants like McDonalds, Wendy’s and Burger King, Dairy Queen has reportedly decided to nix sugary drinks from the kids’ menu. [More]
The Impossible Quest For A Low-Calorie Soda That Tastes Good, Seems Natural
By 3.19.15
Teams of scientists all over the world are working to harness compounds from a South American plant to solve one of the greatest challenges of the modern world. No, they’re not working to cure cancer or invent a car that runs on maple syrup. Scientists all over the world are trying to create a sweetener that’s calorie-free and considered “natural,” but is also palatable. [More]
Sierra Mist Sweetener Switcharoo Leaves Soda Drinkers Bitter
By 2.16.15
If you’re not a frequent soda drinker and only occasionally pick up a bottle of Sierra Mist, you might get a strange-tasting surprise the next time. PepsiCo has replaced some of the sugar in the beverage with stevia-based sweetener, which reduces the calories but alienates customers who don’t care for the taste of stevia. [More]
We Have Seen The Future, And It Serves Strawberry Dr Pepper
By 9.15.14
Last year, we brought you news that Pepsi finally had its answer to the Coke Freestyle super-fountain, and it was called the Pepsi Touch Tower. Over a year later, these machines finally made their way out into the wild, and have been renamed the Pepsi Spire. There aren’t many in operation: only 76 in the United States as of this writing. We were fortunate enough to encounter one while grabbing a slice of pizza. [More]
Americans Drinking Fewer Soft Drinks, More Sweetened Fake Fruit Water And Energy Drinks
By 4.1.14
Maybe Americans are finally figuring out that fizzy soft drinks are delicious sweetener bombs and we should maybe roll back our consumption a little. Or we’re broke and cutting out the sugar water. Whatever the case, nationwide, carbonated soft drink sales are down 3%. What’s taking their place? Well, not tap water. [More]
Appeals Court Hears Arguments On NYC’s Fizzling Big-Soda Ban
By 6.11.13
It’s been three months since a judge tossed out New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s ban on sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces, calling the regulation “arbitrary and capricious.” Today, a state appeals court panel heard arguments for and against the ban, but it doesn’t look good for Mayor Mike. [More]
Polarizing Video Asks “What If Those Coca-Cola Bears Actually Drank A Lot Of Soda?”
By 10.10.12
For years, Coca-Cola has aired ads featuring adorable animated polar bears that just love to drink the brown beverage. But a new video — created by the ad genius behind commercials for Burger King and yes, even Coca-Cola — tries to use those bears to push a message about guzzling too much soda. [More]
Canadian Scientists: Actually, Mountain Dew Can't Dissolve A Mouse
By 1.5.12
The Canadian Broadcasting Company has an important message for the soda pop-buying public: PepsiCo’s claim that Mountain Dew can’t dissolve a whole mouse into a “jelly-like substance” seems unlikely to them. A rodent in a small container of soft drink is going to decompose, not dissolve. Doesn’t that make you feel better? [More]
1956 Ad Says Feed 7-Up To Babies
By 6.28.11
This Seven-Up ad from a 1956 LIFE is simply amazing. Who needs mother’s milk when you have Seven-Up? [More]
You Shall Not Question The Holy CVS Price Scanner
By 4.12.11
Aaron didn’t want to be a jerk, but he also didn’t want to pay $5.79 for a twelve-pack of Dr Pepper when the sign on the store shelf clearly said that it was $5.19. Instead of overriding the price and acknowledging the store’s own sign, the cashier entered a battle of obstinate wills, from which there emerged no clear victor. [More]
Coca-Cola Says Revealed Recipe Is Not The Real Deal
By 2.16.11
The internet has been abuzz this week with reports that Coca-Cola’s secret recipe had been inadvertently leaked in a 1979 newspaper story. But the beverage behemoth is attempting to kill that buzz by saying that the revealed recipe isn’t authentic. [More]
