Diet Pepsi, a carbonated cola soft drink produced by PepsiCo, has a rich and evolving history, particularly when considering its iconic glass bottle. Established in 1898 under the name “Pepsi-Cola,” the company has navigated the changing tastes and preferences of consumers for over a century. Diet Pepsi, also called Pepsi Light in some countries, stands as an alternative to Pepsi, containing no sugar, instead using artificial sweeteners (primarily aspartame).
Early Days and the Rise of Diet Soda
The story of diet soda's rise to prominence is intertwined with evolving health consciousness and the desire for calorie-free alternatives. In 1952, Hyman Kirsch and his son Morris, seeking to provide relief to patients with diabetes and cardiovascular problems, created No-Cal soda. This innovation marked the beginning of diet soda's journey from a niche product to a mainstream beverage.
In 1962, Royal Crown Cola introduced Diet Rite Cola in Chicago, which forced the big companies in the soft-drinks world to take note. The new cola had been the subject of vigorous research and marketing efforts, and although Diet Rite made its debut in Chicago, Royal Crown had begun a marketing test in Greenville, South Carolina, to find out how well the product would fare on a national level. The test was a resounding success. The company rolled out Diet Rite nationally in 1962, and it has been a mainstay of the industry ever since.
The Debut of Diet Pepsi
Diet Pepsi was first test marketed in 1963 under the name Patio Diet Cola, aimed primarily at women. Following a positive reception attributed to the shifting dietary habits and preferences among Baby Boomers, the drink was launched nationally as Diet Pepsi the following year. It became the first diet cola to be distributed on a national scale in the United States, and they were later expanded overseas.
Competition and Market Share
Diet Pepsi competed primarily with The Coca-Cola Company's Tab in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1982, Diet Coke was introduced, which has since been the principal competing product to Diet Pepsi.
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In 1986, Diet Pepsi was the fourth highest selling soft drink in America with a market share of 4.3 percent, one spot under Diet Coke which had 7.1 percent. In 2000, Diet Pepsi had a marginally higher share of 4.7 percent, but placed seventh in the ranking, below Dr Pepper, Sprite, and Mountain Dew (also from PepsiCo) in fourth, while its main competitor Diet Coke remained third. As of 2010, Diet Pepsi represented a 5.3 percent share of all carbonated soft drink sales in the United States, and was ranked as the #7 soft drink brand by volume.
Variations and Ingredients
PepsiCo introduced two further sugar-free cola drinks during the 1990s: Pepsi Max (primarily Europe) in 1993 and then Pepsi One (for the United States) in 1998. Additional variations of Diet Pepsi/Pepsi Light have been introduced over the years since the drink's debut, wherein other flavors (such as wild cherry, vanilla, lemon, and lime) have been added to the cola. There is also a variant that has no caffeine: Caffeine-Free Diet Pepsi was the first Diet Pepsi variant and introduced by PepsiCo in 1982. Diet Pepsi Wild Cherry was launched in 1988. Both are still produced today.
Though Diet Pepsi is represented worldwide as a low- or no-calorie beverage, the ingredients comprising its makeup vary in some cases by the country of origin. In the US, its ingredients are recorded as "carbonated water, caramel color, aspartame, phosphoric acid, potassium benzoate (preserves freshness), caffeine, citric acid, natural flavor; phenylketonurics: contains phenylalanine".
Packaging and Logo Evolution
When it was first introduced in 1964, Diet Pepsi was packaged in glass bottles and was also made available in can format. In 1994, Diet Pepsi became the first product to list a “freshness date” on each individual can and bottle, a practice that would later become a widespread standard in the packaged food and beverage industry.
The logo used in the packaging and advertisement of Diet Pepsi has changed multiple times since its original iteration. In October 2008, PepsiCo announced it would be redesigning its logo and re-branding many of its products, including Diet Pepsi. At this time the brand's blue and red Pepsi Globe logo became a series of "smiles," with the central white band arcing at different angles depending on the product. The Classic Sweetener Blend variety was distinguished by its use of the 2003-2006 wordmark along with the "smile" logo, and a light blue label background in contrast to the modern formulation's silver label. By mid-2017, packages of Classic Sweetener Blend dropped the 2003 wordmark and began using the modernized wordmark instead.
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Advertising and Promotion
While it was initially advertised alongside Pepsi, Diet Pepsi began to be promoted independently in the late 1960s. The first television advertisement to feature Diet Pepsi as a standalone product was "Girlwatchers," which placed focus on the cosmetic aspects of the beverage. Since its inception, musicians, professional athletes, actors and actresses have been featured prominently in the promotion of Diet Pepsi. In 1985, immediately following Super Bowl XIX, the game's respective quarterbacks, Joe Montana (of the San Francisco 49ers) and Dan Marino (of the Miami Dolphins), met in a hallway of what appeared to be a football stadium. Michael J. Fox appeared in commercials for Diet Pepsi in the late 1980s, including a memorable commercial that featured him making a robot clone of himself. During the early 1990s, R&B singer Ray Charles was featured in a series of Diet Pepsi ads featuring the brand's then-current tagline, "You got the right one, baby!" Supermodel Cindy Crawford became a recurring celebrity endorser for the Diet Pepsi brand at this time as well, beginning with a 1991 television ad in which she purchases a can of the drink from a vending machine on a hot summer day.
The Enduring Legacy of the Glass Bottle
The glass bottle has been an integral part of Pepsi's identity since its inception. A piece from a glass bottle, photographed from site BcGn-15 [E 626 N 751], serves as a tangible link to the brand's history. The soft drink was established in 1898 under the name “Pepsi-Cola” for the first time (PepsiCo 2023:par. 1). The 1951 logo of Pepsi-Cola has similar iconography to the glass bottle fragment; this logo was changed to a largely different style and colour palette in 1963 (Pepsi 2023:fig. 9, fig. 11). The similarities between the 1951-1962 logo and the iconography on the glass bottle fragment may indicate a more specific date range for this artifact (Pepsi 2023:fig. 9, fig.
Key Pepsi Bottle Designs Through the Years
- 1906 - The Patent Bottle: The introduction of Pepsi's "Patent Bottle" in 1906 marked a pivotal innovation in beverage packaging and branding. With its distinctive hobble-skirt silhouette, this bottle established iconic visual elements that would remain quintessential to Pepsi's identity for over a century to follow. Its wider base provided stability on early vending machines and tabletops, while the tailored pinch around the neck enabled easy gripping and pouring without compromising the aesthetics. The ingenious shape prevented tipping and spillage, critical for consumability and safety. By unifying form and function in one groundbreaking design, the Patent Bottle created an archetype that would influence beverage packaging and visual branding long after its 1906 debut. Its legacy-defining design cues continue to shape the public's recognition of Pepsi to this day.
- 1916 - The Blow-Off Bottle: The introduction of the "Blow-off Bottle" in 1916 built upon the preceding Patent Bottle's innovative packaging. With its wider bottle neck and shorter shoulder, this new iteration further improved functionality to better serve the era's growth in mass bottling and distribution. The more accommodating opening eased filling procedures, while the abbreviated taper to the shoulder augmented ergonomics for consumers opening the bottle. In simplifying and optimizing the opening and pouring experience for both ends of the supply chain, the engineering of the Blow-off Bottle advanced accessibility and affordability amid booming post-WWI demand. Its enhancements to a decade-old design fueled expanded reach and cementing market presence for the burgeoning beverage company in an increasingly competitive domain. The blow-off supplies yet another critical stepping stone in the bottling legacy that still characterizes Pepsi products.
- 1940 - The Classic Pepsi Bottle: The launch of Pepsi's "Classic Bottle" design in 1940 signifies Pepsi's breakthrough into truly iconic branding. With its sleek, streamlined silhouette featuring ribbed embossing and a flat base, this bottle encapsulates visual identity nearly synonymous with Pepsi itself. Unlike preceding packaging, primarily focused on functionality and production value, the Classic Bottle strategically markets its aesthetics as much as its contents. Its stylized shape effortlessly captures public attention with no need to see the logo or label. The unified curves and modern contours reflect dynamic spirit and energy consistent with Pepsi advertising themes for decades after. Standing out through recession and war, this classic bottle achieves household name recognition across the nation by becoming intrinsically and emotively tied to the very perception of the Pepsi brand. Its timeless design persists as the definitive bottle representation associated with Pepsi products worldwide nearly a century later.
- 1958 - The Swirl Bottle: Pepsi unveiled a captivating new bottle design innovation with the "Swirl Bottle" in 1958. Featuring an intricate twisting motif wrapping around the neck, this stylistic bottle immediately captures consumer attention on grocery shelves. The embossed texture creates an eye-catching play of light while enhancing grip ergonomics with its grooved shape. Building brand recognition through identifiable silhouettes and motifs, Pepsi bottles thus gain three-dimensional branding by incorporating logo elements into the vessels themselves. The Swirl Bottle also suggests dynamism and movement, with its ascending helix pattern representing Pepsi’s own rapid ascent as a market leader. In showcasing both form and function, this 1958 bottle displays savvy marketing strategy and artistic commercial design that appeals to modern sensitivities. Its unique ornamentation foreshadows even bolder sculptural bottle forms for Pepsi in the impending decades.
- 1973 - The Dimple Bottle: Pepsi introduced the "Dimple Bottle" in 1973, displaying a modern take on ergonomic form meeting aesthetic function. Featuring a singular dimpled indentation at its base, this bottle innovation provides easier gripping and handling for the increasingly on-the-go Pepsi drinker. The spheroid cavity allows fingers to curl securely despite condensation or precipitation, enabling reliable portability. Simultaneously, the golf ball-like indent visually arrests consumer focus toward the familiar Pepsi logo and brand identifiers without impeding their prominence. The dimple doubles utility without compromising iconic trade dress. Building on preceding highly stylized bottle engineering, Pepsi aptly responds to a mobile consumer market, delivering facets that serve both branding visibility and usage practicality. The Dimple Bottle’s concave contours at once facilitate grip, foreground logo display, and visually punctuate the bottle’s form with added dimensional detail typical of 70s design.
- 1978 - 2-Liter PET Bottle: The advent of the PET plastic 2-liter bottle in 1978 stood to revolutionize the entire beverage industry, lending game-changing packaging scalability to soda giants Pepsi and Coca-Cola alike. With PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic engineered for optimum impact resistance and minimal weight, these translucent bottles could hold previously unattainable volumes while slashing transportation costs and materials. Their lightweight construction shattered traditional glass bottling limitations to enable regular domestic supply of soda by the gallon. Quickly finding their way into everyday fridges nationwide, the 2-liter vessel’s shatterproof nature and resealable cap introduced convenient portability and storage to high-volume soda purchasing. This barrier-blow molding breakthrough wholly transformed accessibility and affordability economics around soda, driving mass consumer adoption that secured the 2-liter’s ubiquity since. The vessel's launch critically redefined single-use beverage distribution scales.
- 1992 - The Crystal Pepsi Bottle: Pepsi unveiled a bold, transparency-centered bottle design with its clear plastic "Crystal Pepsi" vessel in 1992. Made from transparent PET plastic rather than traditionally opaque materials, this bottle's crystal-like clarity reflects late 20th-century premium branding focused on visibility and purity. Enabled by earlier plastic molding advances, the see-through form invites consumers to witness the cola within, stirring visual intrigue while literally spotlighting the beverage at point of purchase. The clear bottle also implies notions of unadulterated ingredients and refreshed frankness in an increasingly health-conscious era. Standing apart from Coca Cola's red cans and carotene hues, Crystal Pepsi's limpid container reflects the “clear craze” sweeping grocery aisles worldwide. While the product itself proved short-lived, its glass-evocative bottle modernized soda's brand imaging toward transparency, simplicity and cleanliness for decades to follow across the industry.
- 2008 - The Pepsi Spire Bottle: Pepsi unveiled its streamlined "Spire Bottle" design in 2008 to bring beverage packaging sleek, contemporary aesthetics into the 21st century seascape. Featuring a minimalist profile with a tapered base, this angular bottle presents an aviation-inspired silhouette that conveys dynamism through its towering, ascending form. The sharp, pointer bottom not only visually propels the eye upward, but functionally grips surfaces to resist tipping. The sleek surface patterns erase former embossing for a smoother, aerodynamic physique inspired by modern architectural and automotive streamlining design. The Spire Bottle ultimately supplants the traditional contour bottle with a dimensional, mathematically optimized form that expresses themes of progression, futurism and cutting-edge style true to early 21st-century design. Its angularity and matte, metallic style reflects contemporary trends toward precision and technology advancing into an increasingly modern age.
- 2023 - The Pepsi Globe Bottle: Pepsi unveils its "Globe Bottle" design in 2023, bridging the brand's emblem directly into the packaging's sculptural form with spherical embellishment. Featuring the Pepsi globe logo prominently embossed into the front spherical contour, this bottle intertwines visual branding and utilitarian vessel into one cohesive, world-spanning statement. Its planetary shaping and branding conjures themes of environmentalism and global connection highly relevant to contemporary sensitivities focused on sustainability. The round, worldly swelling of the bottle’s midsection further improves gripping ergonomics in the hand or bag. After preceding decades of angular, pointed designs, the Globe Bottle’s full-circle, planetary shaping returns Pepsi’s packaging to more traditional rounded aesthetics last employed in 1973’s dimpled contouring.
Sweetener Controversies
The choice of sweeteners in Diet Pepsi has been a subject of debate and change over the years. The initial formulation of Diet Pepsi was sweetened with the artificial sweetener saccharin, although concerns over saccharin emerged in the 1970s, prompting a shift to an alternative sweetener, aspartame, which was marketed as the brand NutraSweet, in 1983. Aspartame has been the subject of controversy, most notably in 1996 following a 60 Minutes report on concerns alleging that aspartame might be linked to the development of brain tumors in humans. Critics of aspartame have expressed concerns that numerous health risks may be associated with its consumption; however, peer-reviewed comprehensive review articles and independent reviews by governmental regulatory bodies have analyzed the published research on the safety of aspartame and have described it as safe for consumption at current levels.
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