Tag Archives: Pepsi

Pepsi Next Splits the Difference as a “Mid-Calorie” Soda

Pepsi will introduce a new “mid-calorie” soda at the end of this month. The 60 calorie Pepsi Next will contain half the calories of a regular Pepsi yet, more Pepsi flavor than Diet Pepsi.

This isn’t the first time Pepsi, or Coke for that matter, have attempted this. In 2001 both companies introduced mid-calorie colas. Coke brought C2 to the shelves, while Pepsi distributed Pepsi Edge. Both products were taken off the market within five years due to low sales.

Currently, all soda sales are low. Soft drink sales in 2005 were at 10 billion cases. In 2024, sales dropped to 9.4 billion. While soda sales are going down overall, diet soda sales capture the largest percentage of the market.

This may be the right time for a mid-calorie soda in comparison to 2001. Michael Jacobson is the executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. The Center has criticized high-calorie soft drinks in the past, yet they are liking what they see with the Pepsi Next product.

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Posted on March 15, 2024 by Lacy

Where to Find the Best Food in Super Bowl Village

Sporting events generally aren’t places where you count on finding healthy snacks readily available. Lucas Oil Stadium does have some “real food” (I don’t know if healthy really applies) beyond nachos and hot dogs, so I was hopeful for real options when the Super Bowl came to Indianapolis. While there was not much variety within the Super Bowl Village itself, you will not have to wander far to find something that feels more like a meal than a snack.

The Super Bowl Village, stretching from the Indiana Convention Center to the Bankers Life Fieldhouse (formerly the Conseco Fieldhouse) has plenty of concession stands offering chicken tenders, steak burgers, hot dogs, french fries, soft pretzels, Sweeties gourmet treats, Frito Lay chips, candy, hot cider, coffee, hot chocolate, cappuccino, Gatorade, water, and Pepsi products.

Inside the Indiana Convention Center, which houses the NFL Experience, additional options include Lipton tea, fruit juice, popcorn, whole fresh fruit, Lay’s Potato Chips, Snickers, M&M’s, yogurt, turkey caesar sandwiches, Italian grinder sandwiches, roast beef sandwiches, grilled veggie sandwiches, chicken caesar salad, tossed garden salad. burgers, BBQ pork sandwiches, and tenderloin sandwiches.

Deeper in the NFL Experience, near the memorabilia show and autograph stage, Pepsi Max and Doritos each has an exhibit with free samples, contests, and games. Considering the long lines seen in the NFL Play 60 Game Zone, attendees could have very positive feelings about these exhibits.

Luckily, not far from there in the maze of the NFL Experience, the “Sandwich Zone” offers carved turkey and carved beef for sandwiches with several topping options. They also have candy, soda, water, Gatorade, and Lipton Tea.

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Posted on January 31, 2024 by Brooke Randolph

PepsiCo Invests in Pro-Childhood Obesity Lobbying

PepsiCo spent $750,000 in lobbying last quarter, which comes to $3 million per year. This amount is small change to a company with $57.8 billion in global sales, but the news highlights the company’s bipolar relationship to consumer health.

Companies are required to disclose their lobbying activities with the Clerk of the House of Representatives and with the Secretary of the Senate. According to PepsiCo’s lobbying report, the company was generally interested in policies concerning childhood obesity and food and beverage labeling. In terms of specific legislation, PepsiCo opposed guidelines being created by the Interagency Working Group on Food Market to Children (IWG), which would limit the way unhealthy foods could be marketed to children. The company has also fought hard to keep soda from being excluded from nutrition assistance programs, such as food stamp programs.

Although PepsiCo has made a number of changes to improve the public conception of how healthy their products are, the money invested in this kind of lobbying betrays these efforts as little more than token concessions to Americans’ increased interest in healthy eating.

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Posted on December 30, 2023 by Margaret

Activision and Pepsi Promote Childhood Obesity

Kids are heavier than ever and get too little exercise, as school physical fitness has nearly evaporated and home activities revolve around computer games. So, to ensure that the computer time is extraordinarily bad for kids’ health, Activision and Pepsi have teamed up in a cross-promotion from Hell.

Activision and Pepsi have come up with “Rank Up XP,” a cross-promotional deal that is implemented via the new video game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. The offer goes like this: When gamers buy certain Pepsi products, such as Mountain Dew or Doritos, they get redeemable codes to use for “Double XP time” in Call of Duty. Since I’m not familiar with the game, I can only say that it gives people a distinct advantage (presumably in Internet play?). (more…)

Posted on October 6, 2023 by Jason

Reduced Sugar Pepsi Next Hits Stores this Summer

At the Beverage Digest Wall Street Smarts conference yesterday, Massimo d’Amore, CEO, PepsiCo Beverages America confirmed the rumors that Pepsi will be launching a mid-calorie soda. D’Amore described the new beverage as “a next-generation cola” that cuts calories and sugar without sacrificing taste, the major stumbling block for mid-calorie sodas of the past. In 2004, PepsiCo launched the 70-calorie Pepsi Edge, which proved unsuccessful and was pulled from the market in the following year.

“The way we were formulating products 10, 20 years ago is different from how we formulate them today,” said d’Amore. “The sweetener system is different; some of the ingredients are different. It’s a great-tasting product.” He explained that the product has been created for customers who currently drink full-calorie soda, but are looking to cut back on their sugar consumption. The product will be tested in two locations this summer, in Iowa and Wisconsin.

The move may be an attempt to keep consumers from switching from cola to other beverages altogether, as the health problems associated with soda consumption gain more public attention. “When some consumers switch from regular colas, they try diets, don’t like the taste and move on to water or other categories,” John Sicher, Beverage Digest’s editor and publisher, told Advertising Age. “The theory is that a mid-cal can taste better than a diet to some consumers and appeal to consumers who are moving away from the regular brands.”

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Posted on June 14, 2023 by Margaret

Forget Drinkified: How PepsiCo Could Build a Better Snack

In the May 16 edition of The New Yorker, John Seabrook delves into the ways that PepsiCo is working to reposition itself in light of the global obesity crisis. “Snacks for a Fat Planet” is bookended with the author’s interactions with Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo’s C.E.O. Nooyi argues that it’s not enough for the company to make snacks that taste good, but also be “the good company.”

Nooyi is clearly a leader who understands the huge potential for corporate good, both for the bottom line and for society. She also sees that the health crisis created by obesity does not bode well for the future of PepsiCo’s profits, no doubt a factor in the company’s efforts to make healthier products. Earlier this year, the company began making a number of Frito-Lay products with natural ingredients. They also have plans to reduce the amount of sodium and sugar in their products by 25 percent by the year 2024, under guidelines created by Derek Yach, the former World Health Organization cabinet director.

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Posted on May 13, 2023 by Margaret

Food Packaging Shrinks While Prices Stay the Same

If you have been to the supermarket lately, you might have noticed that the prices of your favorite groceries have increased a little bit. The price of almost everything from fresh veggies to bread to milk is increasing. Hershey has even recently announced that they will be increasing the prices of all of their goods by 10 percent.

By increasing their prices, some companies worry that these straightforward price hikes will result in consumers buying less of each product or choosing cheaper alternatives, such as store-brand cereal instead of General Mills. The answer to this dilemma for the food companies? Decrease the amount of food in the packages but keep the prices the same- and, sadly for consumers, the food companies have no obligation to the consumers to tell them about this reduction.

So how much of a reduction are we talking about? The largest reduction from our list will go to Reese’s peanut butter cups, who will reduce their chocolate-peanut-butter goodness by 37 percent, or 0.1 ounces. Chicken of the Sea Tuna will be reduced by 1 ounce, or 17 percent of its total weight. Heinz Ketchup will also take four ounces of their standard bottles, reducing the bottles by 11 percent. However, it’s not only food products; non-food products are also taking a hit. Bounty paper towels will be reduced by 10 sheets, or 7.2 percent. Toilet paper and moist towelettes are also likely to be reduced in the near future, if not already.

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Posted on April 12, 2024 by Health Buzz

Critics Say Pepsi’s ‘Skinny’ Diet Can Perpetuates Negative Body Image, Stereotypes

Diet Pepsi has introduced a new “skinny” can in accordance with New York Fashion Week. The diet soda can is a tall, sleek version of itself that PepsiCo said was “made in celebration of beautiful, confident women.” While the can might look appealing on store shelves, critics wonder if the new approach will perpetuate harmful stereotypes against women and body image.

PepsiCo, a Fashion Week sponsor, is hosting a series of events to launch the new can, including collaborations with popular designers such as Charlotte Ronson and Betsey Johnson.

“Our slim, attractive new can is the perfect complement to today’s most stylish looks, and we’re excited to throw its coming-out party during the biggest celebration of innovative design in the world,” Jill Beraud, chief marketing officer for PepsiCo said in a statement.

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Posted on February 22, 2024 by Maris

Diet Pepsi Can Gets a Makeover for Fashion Week

Diet Pepsi is promoting the idea of “slimness” associated with their product with a new packaging ploy. The tall, thin can was launched during New York City’s Fashion Week, no doubt intended to suggest the kind of body one might have by switching to diet soda. The company says the new look is made to celebrate confident, beautiful women.

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Posted on February 16, 2024 by Health Buzz

How Many Calories are in Your Favorite Super Bowl Ads

I wait all year long to watch the Super Bowl. Part of the allure is the game itself – I’m a huge football fan. The other big draw for me would be the commercials. I love to see how imaginative and creative the companies become, all in an effort to get your attention and your future purchases. Have you noticed, though, that the vast majority of the foods featured in the Super Bowl commercials aren’t healthy? Let’s take a look at some of them.

Doritos – One serving of Doritos is one ounce, between 12 and 14 chips. With 150 calories, 7 grams of fat and 18 grams of carbohydrates, these salty chips make it difficult to stop at one serving.

Coke/Pepsi – Soda is a dieter’s worst nightmare. It’s full of high fructose corn syrup and caffeine and the carbonation can cause stomach troubles. One 12 ounce can of Coke contains 143 calories, one can of Pepsi contains 150 calories and each has more than 40 grams of carbohydrates.

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Posted on February 1, 2024 by Carmen

Pepsi’s New Designer Salt: Healthy or Health Hazard?

You may have heard in the news recently that PepsiCo created a salt for its Lay’s potato chips (and other Frito products) that will reduce salt content. At first glance, it seems like a gimmick. You might even think they are trying to make people think that their snack products are healthier. But, there’s actually more to it than that.

I talked with the Director of Public Relations and Marketing, Aurora Gonzalez, about the new salt and got some interesting health-related information.

Frito-Lay cares about making a good product. They were the first company to remove trans fats in favor of sunflower oil. They are thinking about sodium in terms of “if there is something we can do, we should do it.” They know people are concerned about salt intake. They also know that people like seasonings, and products with seasonings tend to have higher salt. So they’ve been looking into sodium and playing with the structure to reduce the total sodium content. They’re doing it because it’s the right thing to do. Frito-Lay realizes consumers struggle with salt intake. Basically, they are trying to make a small dent, while keeping up the integrity of the quality ingredients.

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Posted on April 8, 2024 by Rebecca

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