The food and drink giant announced today in the US it would launch the drink mid-October exclusively through Amazon ahead of a wider launch. Under the plans, it will eventually roll out to grocery stores.
The brand, Pepsi True, comes in a green coloured can, echoing Coca-Cola's Coke Life brand, which launched in September with a multimillion pound marketing campaign.
Reuters reported the drink had been designed to target the 'mid calorie segment'. The drink is set to contain 60 calories.
Brands have increasingly been using stevia in sweet products over the past few years in a bid to reduce calorie and sugar content as consumers become increasingly health conscious.
At the launch of Coke Life, marketing director Bobby Brittain told Marketing: "We know exactly who our Coke Life will appeal to. It’s 20 and 30 somethings who have begun to realise they’re not completely immortal and that they do have a sense of responsibility about what they consume".
Chris Arnold, creative director of agency and founder of Creative Orchestra said Pepsi True had 'copycatted' Coke Life, owing to the similar branding.
"You could say that Pepsi have 'copycatted Coke by using green branding for Pepsi True but they are both trading off the whole ethical green image and I think this further devalues green messaging," he said.
PepsiCo and Coca-Cola were contacted but had not responded at the time of writing.
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