Pepsi Prices

Drink Pepsi and get your energy up and become a cool person for it, too! At least, that’s the subliminal message that Pepsi advertisements give to everybody who’s watching and listening. The message isn’t without a basis in fact since the carbonated soft drink contains caffeine, a known stimulant, and endorsed by many of the contemporary pop culture’s coolest persons, such as Michael Jackson.

Pepsi is manufactured by PepsiCo, a multinational corporation that manufactures a wide range of food and beverages distributed worldwide. The carbonated soft drink has undergone many changes since its original creation, from change in its name to its formulation, as well as additions to its line.

Below are the latest Pepsi prices.

History

In 1893, Caleb Bradham created “Brad’s Drink” and sold it in his drugstore in New Bern, North Carolina. By 1898, it was renamed as Pepsi Cola, a name derived from “dyspepsia” and “kola nuts”, one of the main ingredients used in the original recipe. The recipe also included vanilla and sugar, as well as created as a fountain drink that can aid in better digestion and higher energy.

In terms of which came first, Coca-Cola or Pepsi for comparison purposes, Coca-Cola came first – it was created in 1886 by Dr. John Pemberton in Atlanta, Georgia. But the competition between the two closest rivals still remain strong today.

The change in name from Pepsi-Cola to Pepsi came more than 60 years later, in 1961. The name is still used today but the logo has been changed although the predominant colors – blue, red, and white – have been retained. The distinctive blue colors used on the Pepsi bottles and cans are in contrast with the red on Coke bottles and cans so it’s easy to determine which one is which without looking at the logo.

And speaking of logos, the current Pepsi logo doesn’t have the “Pepsi” word in cursive anymore. Instead, it’s a circle with the predominant colors blue and white in abstract form.

By the way, PepsiCo, the current owner of the brand, was only formed in 1965 when Pepsi-Cola Company and Frito-Lay, Inc. underwent a corporate merger. The publicly-traded corporation has several brand portfolios including Tropicana and Quaker Oats, too, although Pepsi is its flagship brand.

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Known Ingredients

According to its label, Pepsi as it’s available in the United States are made with the following ingredients:

• Carbonated water
• high fructose corn syrup
• Sugar
• Caramel color
• Caffeine
• Citric acid
• Phosphoric acid
• Natural flavors

These are obviously common ingredients in carbonated soft drinks but the Pepsi formulation is different and thus its overall flavor profile is distinctive.  In taste tests, for example, to compare the flavors between Pepsi and Coke, most people agree that Pepsi has a sweeter taste than Coke.

Each can of 12-ounce coke contains carbohydrates (41 grams), sodium (30 milligrams), caffeine (38 milligrams), calories (150) and zero amount of fat and protein. With the caffeine-free variant, there’s no caffeine but the types and amounts are the same as the regular counterpart.  There’s also Pepsi Next, a variant that contains 30% less sugar from the regular Pepsi as well as with Stevia, a sweetener that contains zero calories.

PepsiCo has also endeavored to appeal to more health-conscious consumers, especially considering the negative reputation of carbonated soft drinks. Changes to the ingredients have been adopted for this purpose, said changes of which included decreasing fat content and removing trans-fats, as well as manufacturing calorie-specific serving sizes. These changes were designed to discourage overconsumption, especially among vulnerable populations like children, overweight people, and the elderly, and to reduce the harmful substances in standard carbonated soft drinks.

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Along this line, a few Pepsi variants were introduced, which met with varying success. These included Diet Pepsi, which was introduced in 1964, and Pepsi Max launched in 1993. These variants contain a lower number of calories than the regular Pepsi, as well as a slight variation in their overall flavor profile. Diet Pepsi, for example, has a less sweet taste than regular Pepsi because of its reduced sugar content; most of the carbohydrates in a regular can of Pepsi, by the way, comes from the sugar component.

According to PepsiCo, its sense of corporate responsibility is aligned with that of personal responsibility advocates. This means that the corporation agrees that food and drinks with greater proportions of salt and/or sugar are fit for human consumption but with a caveat – these should be consumed in moderation and consumed by individuals who adopt a healthy diet and exercise plan (i.e., regular exercise to burn the calories from the drink).

The bottom line: Pepsi is, indeed, a refreshing and rejuvenating drink, especially when you’re looking for a way to cool down in summer or you want a quick caffeine fix without the coffee. But it should be consumed in moderation, the actual amount of which will differ depending on your own tolerance, and it should be paired with regular exercise.