FAILED PRODUCT REPORT '' Crystal Pepsi
Prepared by Yeo & Ong
March 5, 2009

There was a marketing fad in early 1990s equating clarity with purity. Just to name a few, Miller Brewing Co. came up with Miller Clear(March 1993), Coors Brewing Co. came up with Zima Clearmalt (1992), Procter & Gamble came up with Ivory clear liquid hand cleanser and Colgate-Palmolive came up with Clear Sparkling fresh dishwashing liquid. Last but not least, PepsiCo came up with Crystal Pepsi in April 1992.
Company Brief Description Pepsi Company (PepsiCo) owns many brands of beverages, snacks and other foods. Its major product, Pepsi Cola, is one of the most popular carbonated beverages. Besides that, PepsiCo owns the brands Quaker Oats, …show more content…

For a short period, Crystal Pepsi merchandise such as pool float, glass and wall clock were also available in the market. Pepsi also arranged promotions with major retailers, including USA Today. However, Crystal Pepsi’s advertising failed to identify and stress the importance of product attributes. As stated by McCarthy (1993), Crystal Pepsi was designed to give consumers a new benefit -- a 90’s reason '' to drink cola: Without color, caffeine or preservatives, it is supposed to be perceived as “better for you.”
Target market The first group of target market of Crystal Pepsi was the health conscious consumers. By removing the caramel color of regular cola has, Crystal Pepsi was presenting an image of “good health, purity, and icy cold water” to its drinkers (Grossman, 1992). It was following the fashion existed during early 90s that many products had been made colorless in order to give their consumers the impression of pureness and clarity. Another category of target market Crystal Pepsi aimed for was consumer of soft drink besides cola. There were about $47 billion of soft-drink market in the United States as of 1993 (McCarthy, 1993). According to Wall Street Journal reporter Laurie Grossman, the traditional beverages only had 2% to 3% growth annually. However, the “new age” beverages such as Cleary Canadian and