Pepsi to Introduce Pepsi Next, Not Regular, Not Diet Soda [Video]

Pepsi Co has announced the release of a new type of carbonated beverage they hope is going to help them restore some of their lost market share.  Pepsi Next is being hailed as a halfway point between regular soda and the diet varieties.

Pepsi Next will have about 60 calories per can.  It will be made with a blend of three artificial sweeteners and high fructose corn syrup. The soda market in general has been losing market share since 2005.  Customers are gravitating more towards bottled water and sports drinks and other healthier varieties of drinks.

The diet soda market makes up about 29% of the carbonated beverages market.  Pepsi only has about 9.9% of that market, down from over 13% a few years ago.  They are hoping that Pepsi Next will be that wonder drink that helps them recapture market share.

Analysts fear that Pepsi Next might not work for its intended audience.  While low calorie sports drinks and fruit juices have a market because of health benefits Soda is considered an empty calorie.  People who are looking to drink something healthy tend to shy away from soda at all or go with a completely diet variety.

A Pepsi spokeswoman, Melisa Tezanos, said the company developed the cola by researching the “taste curve” that consumers experience when drinking regular soda. She compared that arc to how someone might evaluate a sip of wine, from the moment the liquid hits the tongue to the aftertaste it leaves.

Are you going to be one of the people who tries Pepsi Next?

Watch a financial News Report about Pepsi Next