Pepsi with real sugar? That's sooo 1981.
But during a recession, Pepsi has decided that what's old is new again.
The company for a limited time is selling Pepsi Throwback, Mountain Dew Throwback and Pepsi Natural, all mixed with real glucose instead of high-fructose corn syrup, which is the staple ingredient in modern, mass-produced America sodas.
The new Throwback beverages feature vintage looks and come in both cans and plastic bottles while the Natural recipe uses non-artificial ingredients and comes in a 12 ounce glass bottle.
In the 1980s, sugar was nearly dissolved from all U.S. soft drinks when the government began subsidizing the corn industry and South American sugar cane exporters found themselves excommunicated from American markets. Since then, nearly all soft drinks have been sweetened with HFCS.
"Pepsi is inviting consumers to take a nostalgic trip back in time by offering special retro versions of Pepsi and Mountain Dew. Pepsi Throwback and Mountain Dew Throwback are featured in retro packaging and sweetened with natural sugar with a taste that will give consumers an idea of how the brands tasted back in the '60s and '70s," wrote Nicole Bradley, a PepsiCo representative. "The products are sweetened with natural sugar to add authenticity to the taste of the beverages of that time."
The back-to-sugar gimmick comes as major companies look to boost sagging sales by adopting unconventional marketing tactics. Denny's, International House of Pancakes, Quiznos and most recently Kentucky Fried Chicken and El Pollo Loco have all turned to giving out free food to bring in new customers and draw back old ones.
While Pepsi isn't handing out free cans -- yet -- the company's temporary return to sugar is undoubtedly aimed at reuniting with its lost audience. It also sees success with the formula among its competitors.
Recently, multiple suppliers that carry Coca-Cola manufactured in Mexico--which uses real sugar cane rather than HFCS--have seen demand for the soft drink on the rise . Beginning as a grassroots movement, the Mexican Coke initially could only be found in taquerias, but now corporate sales giants including Wal-Mart and Costco offer it. The U.S.'s sweet tooth for the imported cola has become large enough that it has created an inter-company battle. U.S. Coke has been known to make efforts to prevent Mexican Coca Cola from entering American markets in order to protect local bottlers from being overtaken by their southern sister companies.
Although both Pepsi and Coca-Cola downplay any taste difference from American cola made with HFCS, taste tests by ordinary citizens say otherwise. In a recent review of Pepsi Throwback, one soft drink connoisseur, Steve Tanner of BevReview, wrote that the new Pepsi Throwback gave a surprisingly clean and natural taste, boasting tighter and more perfect bubbles, and lacking the "syrupy residue" found in traditional Pepsi. He further analyzed that Throwback was an overall more pure and enjoyable beverage and had a taste more favorable than the original.
