Pepsi To Begin Using Actual Sugar In Their “Throwback” Campaign
Beginning in April, PepsiCo is introducing Pepsi Throwback and Mountain Dew Throwback, “which features those brands formulated with sugar” (link). I love how using actual sugar is considered a “throwback” by the Pepsi Beverage Venders (PBV). Using the term throwback implies that we are technologically regressing. It’s as though using real sugar is quaint and ignores the way of scientific progress. In any case, get ready for a surge in advertising.
“For the flagship PepsiCo brands, Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Mountain Dew and Sierra Mist, PBV also is beginning to distribute the brands featuring their new redesigned graphics and packaging, which is part of a holistic campaign aimed at drawing in younger consumers. PepsiCo also is launching a new advertising campaign with the release.”
My questions are: Why now? Did they foresee Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack’s remonstration against subsidies and monocultures (link)? Or did they know the cut to corn subsidies would happen eventually and the timing of Vilsack’s comments is coincidental? Indeed, the throwback sodas may be an introduction to a bigger market maneuver in the future.
We know there is a strong underground movement that prizes Mexican Coke made with real sugar. Is there a similar black market for a Mexican Pepsi? And, did PepsiCo just now decide that the desire for real sugar in Pepsi had hit a critical mass? If that is the case, they could possibly make a premium Pepsi without fear of people switching to the cheaper, HFCS Coke. (For a background discussion on the economics of sugar vs. HFCS soda please see this post.)
On that note, will Coca-Cola be following? If they haven’t got something in the works already, I’m sure they will let PepsiCo test the waters on this one. In any caes, both companies will surely wait with bated breath to see what consumers buy.
UPDATE: This excerpt from Marion Nestle’s blog offers insight to the question why Pepsi is venturing to make soda with real sugar outside of Jewish holidays:
Sales of HFCS-free foods zoom up
The bad press about high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is having an effect. According to figures assembled by Phil Lempert, the Supermarket Guru, sales of products bearing “HFCS-Free” labels almost reached a billion dollars last year. Fruit drinks are the biggest HFCS-free category, but HFCS-free yogurts, vegetable juices, and breads are the fastest growing. Lempert doesn’t say what companies are using instead of HFCS. If it’s sucrose, it won’t be much of an improvement. But no wonder the Corn Refiners think they need a hefty public relations campaign.
February 18, 2009
Tags: cane sugar, food event, marketing, soda Posted in: Health, Science & Technology
4 Responses
Ah success! These last too articles are great news! It’s crazy just how much of the American diet comes from corn. I remember reading elsewhere that the percentage was at least fifty percent! HFCS is so prevalent in almost all of the foods we eat, not to mention corn starts and other corn derivatives! It’s good to see that there will be an increasing shift towards more natural ingredient choices, and not just some corny substitute.
Well, in a way sugar is a throwback. HFCS isn’t natural. It takes a lot of science to be able to do the things that we do with corn.
Thanks for the corny pun, Squishee. Corn is everywhere. Here is a cool article about how fast food essentially equals corn: http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/11/fast-food-anoth.html
Bill: Right. Using sugar in it’s natural form is definitely a throwback. I think that ‘throwback’ has such a negative connotation in this context. The term suggests that we are giving up on science by using actual sugar. Then again, maybe others see ‘throwback’ as a positive term-it’s a return to a simpler, better time. What do you think?
It seems to me like Pepsi is bringing out the “throwback” soda at the same time they’re switching to a neo-retro (i like that phrase) marketing campaign. Also, the mexican coke issue clearly shows that people want soda with real sugar… you’ve said before that it tastes better. It doesn’t seem like they’re responding to pressures in their supply chain but rather they’re responding to increased demand: people have wanted soda with real sugar for a while. I don’t buy the “critical mass” argument, it takes time for most large companies to realize the demand in a new market is there.
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