If you have ever stood in the supermarket beverage aisle, bypassed the beer cases, and grabbed a brightly colored pack of hard lemonades, spiked teas, or fruit-infused bottles, you know exactly what the packaging promises. It sells the illusion of a breezy, crisp, distilled-spirit cocktail or a nostalgic soda-shop treat. But then you take a … Read more
Walk into any supermarket or liquor store today looking to scratch a specific, sun-drenched retro itch, and your eyes will likely lock onto a colorful display of Seagram’s Escapes. or similar bottled beverages. Packed with vibrant, neon liquids and boasting sweet, tropical flavors like peach, strawberry, and calypso colada, they look identical to the breezy, … Read more
In the spring of 1994, executives at Coca-Cola were still nursing a massive, decade-long psychological hangover from the 1985 New Coke disaster. Terrified of ever again risking the sacred global brand equity of their flagship product, they decided to treat an entire demographic as corporate guinea pigs. Enter OK Soda, a bizarre, short-lived alternative soft … Read more
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
Every corporate autopsy of the 1990s “clear beverage craze” tells the exact same lazy story: Crystal Pepsi failed simply because consumers expect cola to be brown. It’s a neat, surface-level explanation that treats human behavior like a mindless habit. But it completely misses the real story. The catastrophic flop of clear soda wasn’t just a … Read more