"pepsi Kona" news and stories

Coca-Cola's newest drink, Coca-Cola Blak, is scheduled to be officially released on April 3rd. The drink, which we have mentioned before, is a blend of classic Coke and coffee "essence." The company is trying to market the uniqueness of the product, but similar blends have been released in the past and have failed.

In 1994, for example, Pepsi began to test market a soda called Pepsi Kona. It tasted more like coffee than soda and consumers were not thrilled. Back in 1995, Starbucks partnered with Pepsi and began to market a coffee product called Mazagran. It was a lightly carbonated iced coffee beverage and it, too, flopped. Customers were willing to try it once, based on the Starbucks name alone, but the drink was not enough to encourage repeat sales. The question is whether it was the carbonation or the coffee that put consumers off the original drink. Since coffee sales have boomed, one can only assume that the combination of coffee and carbonation has not previously been held in high regard by consumers.