Pepsi has existed for over 100 years and have released tons of different products since
then. Pepsi is available in over 200 countries, with a lot of them having products that are
unique to them. Because there are so many different products all around the world, there’s
bound to be some interesting Pepsi drinks you didn’t know existed. Some sound delicious,
and there are some you’d probably rather never come across in a store near you, but
either way, here are 10 Pepsi drinks you won’t believe actually exist.
Ice Cucumber
Japan is one country that has released quite a few unique Pepsi flavours throughout the
years. Dozens of Japan exclusive variations of the soda have been released and some certainly
sound better than others. Some Japanese variations include flavors that are quite different to
the ones we find here in the US. While there are plenty of fruit flavored sodas available
in the American market it’s certainly a lot more difficult to find a vegetable flavored
one. Japan decided to venture into the vegetable soda territory in the summer of 2007 by releasing
an Ice Cucumber flavored Pepsi as a limited time offer. A refreshing soda is the perfect
way to stay cool during hot summer days and that’s exactly what Pepsi was going for
when it released this Japanese flavor. The spokeswoman of Pepsi’s Japanese distributor,
Suntory Ltd. said that the company “wanted a flavor that makes people think of keeping
cool in the summer heat” and that they “thought the cucumber was just perfect." The soda was
marketed as tasting like a mix of icy cucumber and the classic cola flavor in Pepsi, but
according to some people who tried it, the drink tasted more fruity with a cucumber aftertaste,
which was described as kind of gross by some. Sadly it’s impossible to get a taste of
the drink yourself, because this unique flavor was only released for a few months over 10
years ago now.
Pepsi Pink
Another bold Japanese flavor was released for a limited time in 2011 and again in 2014.
This time, the drink was a familiar fruity flavor but with a slight twist. The soda was
titled Pink Cola and the drink itself was a soft pastel pink color. The taste was rather
interesting as the cola was actually strawberry milk flavored. Strawberry soda isn’t that
special but adding the milk element is pretty ambitious. Flavored milk, especially strawberry,
is a popular drink in Japan, but carbonated milk is not something that sounds especially
appetizing. However, there are some carbonated milk drinks sold in East Asia, so Pink Cola
doesn’t seem that strange to Japanese consumers. According to reviewers, the drink is sweet to the point
where people found it difficult to drink the entire bottle in one sitting. This might sound
great for those with a sweet tooth, but to people who don’t enjoy overwhelming sugar,
it’s not the best. Apparently the strawberry flavor is super strong but it’s hard to
detect any milk flavors or textures, which is probably a good thing. Japanese consumers
must have liked the product though, as it was brought back for another limited time
release in 2014 after its original limited run in 2011. Sadly the drink is not currently
available, but maybe it’ll be brought back again and you’ll have the chance to give
this soda a taste test yourself.
Pepsi Gold
Sometimes drink companies collaborate with other companies in order to promote their
products. In 2007, Pepsi was one of the sponsors for the 2007 Cricket World Cup that took place
in the West Indies. For the event, Pepsi released a limited edition drink called Pepsi Gold
in collaboration with the International Cricket Council. The drink was released in India due
to the country’s huge cricket following. Cricket is one of the most popular sports
in India, if not the most popular, so it was a good marketing technique on Pepsi’s end
to release the drink there. The drink was like its name states, gold in color. The color
was supposed to represent the gold of the World Cup trophy won by the winner’s of
the event. The taste of the drink was that of classic Pepsi with a bit of lemon added
in, to go with the gold coloring. The color of this Pepsi is slightly off putting, but
the taste itself doesn’t sound all that bad. Because this was a limited edition release
over 10 years ago, it’s impossible to try the drink yourself. The flavor is most similar
to the lemon flavored Pepsi Twist, but unfortunately that was discontinued a while back and is
no longer available in the United States.
Pepsi Azuki
Another Japanese flavor of Pepsi on this list is the Pepsi Azuki which was released for
a limited time in October of 2009. Azuki is a red bean that is common in East Asian cuisine,
especially in the making of red bean paste which is used to make a lot of different baked
goods. Azuki is a pretty sweet variation of bean and it’s been used as a flavor for
other snacks such as ice cream and chocolate bars before, so it makes sense that Pepsi
would hop on to the trend and profit off of the flavor as well. The reviews of the drink
were interesting as people decided that the flavor was not bad, but it tasted nothing
like Pepsi. Apparently the smell was a different story though, with one reviewer stating that
it smelled like somebody threw up a red bean cake. Once you get past the smell though,
it was fine. But along with tasting nothing like Pepsi, the drink also apparently did
not taste very much like azuki. This can be easily explained by flipping around the bottle
to read the ingredients, where you’ll realize that there isn’t actually any azuki in the
Pepsi at all, but instead a grape flavouring. Even though some parts of this limited edition
drink were questionable, it was a very unique flavor and one that would have been really
interesting to try out.
Pepsi Ghost
Yet another Japanese flavor on our list of Pepsi drinks you didn’t know existed is
Pepsi Ghost. This limited edition flavor was released in October 2015 in celebration of
Halloween. The drink came in several differently decorated bottles, with one portraying a witch,
another one a ghost, a jack-o'-lantern, among others. Even within the realm of unique Japanese
Pepsi flavors, this edition of the drink was unusual because its flavor was a secret. This
was a pretty good marketing technique as it created curiosity among people and influenced
more people to buy the drink to test out what they thought the flavor was. The flavor of
the drink remains a mystery, as it doesn’t seem like Pepsi ever actually revealed what
the drink was. Because the drink was a limited edition, you can’t taste it and judge it
yourself but there are quite a few speculations about what the flavor was by reviewers online.
One person had many ideas about what the flavor could have been. Their three main guesses
were chocolate, peanut butter, and pumpkin, all of which sort of fit into the Halloween
candy theme. They also said there was the possibility of it being marshmallow, popcorn,
or candy corn, which also fit. Another person stated that the drink was reminiscent of the
Wild Cherry Pepsi available here in America, which hints at a more fruity flavor than the
other guesses. Another reviewer says it tastes like a lighter version of normal Pepsi with
a hint of pumpkin. Unfortunately though the true flavor will probably always remain a
mystery, so all we have to go by are these guesses.
Blue Hawaii Pepsi
The next Japanese flavor on our list is the Blue Hawaii Pepsi that was released for a
limited time in the summer of 2008. The drink is based on the cocktail of the same name
that contains rum, blue curacao, pineapple juice, sweet and sour mix, and sometimes vodka.
Sadly, this Pepsi rendition of the cocktail does not contain any alcohol but it does keep
the bright blue colour of the original, which is unsettlingly similar to the color of antifreeze.
The Pepsi version also stays true to the flavors of the cocktail by making its flavor pineapple
and lemon, with the lemon standing in as the equivalent of the sour flavor in the original. According
to reviewers, the drink was extremely sweet and artificial, which is probably to be expected
from a sugary soda, but it didn’t taste as bad as it had the possibility to. So despite
the off putting color, this cocktail flavored soda doesn’t seem to have been all that
horrible, especially considering that the previous summer’s limited edition Pepsi
in Japan was Ice Cucumber. After trying that we’re sure that the people’s taste buds
were pleased with the overly sweet fruity taste of Pepsi Blue Hawaii.
Pepsi Samba
We’re now moving away from Japan and heading into Australia, where the short lived Pepsi
Samba was born. This limited edition Pepsi flavor was released in the country in 2005
and was discontinued pretty quickly after due to low sales and negative reviews. The
drink was a unique flavor of mango and tamarind mixed into the usual cola flavor of Pepsi.
Tamarind is a tropical fruit with a sweet and sour flavour, so the drink was supposed
to have an exotic taste. Fruit flavored sodas are usually great, but as you could probably
imagine, the taste of cola mixed with tropical fruits does not sound widely appealing. Gathering
information on the Pepsi Samba is difficult because of its extremely short life on the
market, but according to forums discussing the drink back when it was released, it was
absolutely disgusting. One person described it as “gag-worthy” and says that it is
by far the worst Pepsi drink released, while another person describes Pepsi Samba as tasting
like soap. They also say that the aftertaste is just as bad as the drink itself and that
for some reason there’s also a flavor reminiscent of mint or eucalyptus. Hopefully this outburst
of negative reviews and low sales taught Pepsi to keep exotic fruit and cola flavors far
away from each other.
Lemon and Mint Pepsi
We’re heading back to Japan to introduce the next entry on this list: the Lemon Mint
Pepsi, released as a limited edition flavor in 2015. The flavor is similar to that of
a mojito, which contains rum, sugar, lime juice, sparkling water, and mint. Of course
the Pepsi version does not contain any alcohol but it did keep the citrus and mint flavor.
But instead of just plain carbonation, the lemon and mint flavors are inserted into the
classic cola flavor of normal Pepsi. The drink is also unique as it is part of Pepsi Japan’s
“Special” line of drinks that are endorsed by an organization called Food for Specified
Health Uses, or FOSHU. Food and drinks endorsed by FOSHU contain ingredients with functions
for health that are officially approved to claim their physiological effects on the human
body, and in this case, Pepsi Lemon and Mint is saying that by drinking it along with a
meal, it blocks the production of new fat cells, leading to less weight gain. Along
with this the drink only contains 5 calories per serving, so it is a healthier alternative
to other Pepsi products. The taste itself is said to be very close to the taste of normal
Pepsi, and the taste of the mint and lemon is pretty subdued. However, it’s said to
have been really good and refreshing anyways.
Pepsi Shiso
Japan has had many unique flavors over the years, and another strange flavor of the limited
edition summer flavor of Pepsi was released in 2009. This time the drink was called Pepsi
Shiso, and its flavor was the same as its name. The bright green drink was flavored
with shiso, a leaf in the mint family that’s commonly used to season sauces and other foods
in Japanese cuisine. While it might have been slightly better to mix the shiso with some
other flavor in order to make it more appetizing, this limited edition drink is simply shiso
with nothing else not even the classic cola flavor of Pepsi. Reviewers of the drink pointed
out that the appearance and smell of Pepsi Shiso reminded them a lot more of a chemical
that would be used to scrub floors than something that you would want to put in your mouth and
drink. After getting past the shock of the smell though, apparently the drink didn’t
actually taste as awful as it had the potential to be. The taste was described as grassy and
strong, but not so bad that it was completely undrinkable. One reviewer said that if the
herbal flavors had been a little more subtle, it would have been a really good drink. So
while it wasn’t completely disgusting, Pepsi Shiso could definitely have had room for improvement.
Salted Watermelon Pepsi
The final entry on our list is yet another summer limited edition of Pepsi. The 2012
release brought us the interesting Salted Watermelon flavor of the drink. Salt on watermelon
might sound strange to some people, but it’s actually said to enhance the flavor of the
fruit and it’s fairly common in Japan to salt watermelon before eating it, so that
explains the weirdness of the Salted Watermelon flavor. However, this salted watermelon flavor
was added into the classic cola flavor of Pepsi, which is a risky move considering the
aftermath of the fruit with cola mix Pepsi Samba. According to reviews, the watermelon
taste in the drink is actually very subtle, and despite the bright red appearance, it
tastes a bit more like classic Pepsi. It was also described as being much less sweet than
other variations of the soda, leading to a more “adult taste”. While watermelon flavors
are usually overpowering, this one is not, and it actually makes for a pretty delicious
combination. While this unique drink was a success, some others on this list definitely
were not, and it just proves that sometimes good results do come out of bold risks, even
when there are some failures along the way.
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