PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP) is trying to revitalize its drinks business in the American continents, with an emphasis on sodas.
The flagship Pepsi-Cola may get a boost with the first worldwide advertising campaign to boost sales of the carbonated drink. Diet Pepsi is under the lens, due to the fall in its sales by 8% in 2011. This drink is now being re-evaluated by Pepsi, and its U.S. formula may be replaced by a formula being used in international markets. The goal is to make the drink taste just as it was when bottled. The drink loses some of its flavor due to the sweetener used, aspartame, breaking down due to heat and shaking during transportation.
The change would, however, be restricted to the sweetener, and the basic formula of the drink would remain unaltered. “While we are always looking at ways to provide the best consumer experience, we have no intention of changing the Diet Pepsi formula, or the great taste that our consumers know and love,” PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP) spokeswoman Andrea Foote said.
Sweetener options used in tests being conducted by the company range from those used in Canada and Saudi Arabia, to a sweetener blend such as that of aspartame and acesulfame potassium. These could likely have a longer shelf life.
After conclusive tests lead to a selection, PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP) intends to launch the drink with the new sweetener by early 2013. Take note, however, that no changes are being made to the brand name of the drink or to its formula – only the sweetener is changed – and this may result in the drink tasting sweeter, longer.
PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP) previously tweaked the diet soft drink Mountain Dew in 2006 in a similar situation. Rival drink maker, The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) did the same with Diet Sprite in the year 2000. However, The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) spokesman, Scott Williamson, said the company was not contemplating any changes to Diet Coke, which uses the sweetener aspartame.
