As Pepsi was struggling to market its Yoo-hoo competitor, Devil Shake, Coca-Cola was looking to shake things up with Saci. Launched in Brazil around 1968, Saci was an attempt to market a chocolate-flavored nutrition drink. The company hoped to convince locals to adopt its offering while also addressing protein malnutrition in developing regions. Coca-Cola Failed … Read more
If you’ve ever browsed a high-end cocktail menu, read a bartender’s recipe book, or listened to an alcohol aficionado, you’ve likely noticed a specific bit of fancy-sounding language. They don’t just call it booze or liquor, they call it “spirits.” To the average person, it can feel like industry jargon used to make things sound … Read more
Crystal Pepsi was an experiment by the Pepsi Company to market Pepsi as a clear rather than a colored beverage. The idea was that health-conscious customers, concerned about caramel coloring or other food coloring, would appreciate the clear beverage and view it as healthier. Crystal Pepsi was sold for two years, from 1992 to 1994, … Read more
t’s easy to look back at the original Coca-Cola formula and see it as a historical anomaly—a one-time lapse in judgment by a caffeine-crazed pharmacist. In reality, Coca-Cola wasn’t the outlier; it was just the most successful survivor of an era where the line between a refreshment and a pharmaceutical was almost non-existent. While Coke … Read more
By 1891, when Asa G. Candler bought the rights to Coca-Cola, the drink was already a runaway success. But that success invited a massive wave of Coca-Cola rip-offs looking to cash in on the “coca” craze. From blatant name-swaps like Koke and Coke-Ola to literal “clones” like Afri-Kola, the soda market was flooded with imitators. … Read more
Did Coca-Cola really contain cocaine? The short answer is yes. Far from being an urban legend or an accidental contamination, cocaine was a foundational ingredient in John Pemberton’s original 1886 formula. At a time when coca-leaf extracts were touted as a medicinal marvel, the drink wasn’t just a soda, it was a sophisticated delivery system … Read more