Facts You Never Knew About Pepsi

#1 Brad's Drink

The inventor of Pepsi-Cola was a druggist in North Carolina named Caleb Davis Bradham. In 1893, Bradham began selling "Brad's Drink" at the soda fountain in his store. The beverage was a mixture of sugar, water, caramel, lemon oil, nutmeg, kola nuts, and a few other ingredients. Five years later, Bradham renamed the drink Pepsi Cola because he believed that it helped to stave off dyspepsia (indigestion).

#2 There Have Been 11 Pepsi Logo Makeovers In 122 Years

The iconic globe symbol that the brand uses today did not exist until the 1950s when the stylized script logo was applied to a graphic of a round bottle cap with red, white, and blue swirls. In the early 1960s, the word "cola" disappeared completely, and the script was replaced with bold text. Each version of the logo since has used the globe symbol, the most recent being a $1 million update

#3 Every Can Of Regular Pepsi Contains Roughly Eight Teaspoons Of Sugar

It was made with real sugar, and the original recipe is back on the market. In every can of regular Pepsi there are eight teaspoons of sugar - which equates to approximately 32-grams of the white stuff. That means there are approximately 128 calories in a standard 330ml can of Pepsi. They quit using so much back in the early 80s but are now promoting their new "Original Recipe" with 'real' sugar.

#4 Current Company Was Formed Out Of A Merger Between Pepsi-Cola And Frito-Lay

The Pepsi fizzy-drink brand is owned by the "PepsiCo" - which was formed out of a merger between the Pepsi-Cola Company and crisp-giant Frito-Lay in 1965. As well as owning the brands of Pepsi, Doritos, Lay's and Cheetos, the PepsiCo acquired Mountain Dew before buying orange-juice company Tropicana in 1998, as well as merging with cereal Giant Quaker Oats in 2001 (meaning Gatorade also came under their control). PepsiCo actually holds Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, KFC and a ton of others! Not only that but they hold multiple patents, more than 500 of them, including one for a tennis racket!

#5 The First To Offer 2 Liter Bottles

In the 1970s, an inventor named Nathaniel Wyeth developed a bottle made of polyethylene terephthalate, which was lighter than glass, wouldn't shatter if dropped, and wouldn't contaminate its contents. By 1976, Pepsi was selling the bigger bottles to thirsty consumers everywhere. Coke didn't come along with a plastic bottle until 2 years later.

#6 Pepsi Isn’t Shy To Experiment

Pepsi constantly experiments with new flavors. As they sell in limited edition on special events and at different parts of the world, we are almost certain that you haven't heard even a tiny bit of all the flavors and formulas Pepsi has tried over the years. Just a tiny examples are its cucumber, azuki bean, baobao tree fruit and salty watermelon flavors!

#7 Pepsi Was The First Widely-Available American Product To Be Sold In The USSR

In 1972, Pepsi was the first US product that was manufactured, marketed and sold in the former Soviet Union. This happened, because, at a 1959 trade exhibition in Moscow, Nikita Khrushchev tasted the product and liked it.

#8 Pepsi Was The First Product To Be Advertised Using Skywriting

In 1932, Pepsi hired pilot Andy Stinis to write their name over various cities in the United States, running accompanying print ads in local papers to let consumers know that the Pepsi-Cola Skypilot was coming to town. Over the next decade, there were around 14 contracted skywriters working for Pepsi, and in 1940 they wrote approximately 2,225 messages over the United States, Mexico, Canada, Cuba, and South America.

#9 Pepsi Went Bankrupt After WWI

As the price of sugar rose significantly during the first World War, Bradham decided to purchase more of it, with the hopes that the price would continue to climb and that he would be able to sell for a profit. However, that didn't happen and Bradham declared bankruptcy in 1923. Luckily for Pepsi, the company was bought eight years later by the Loft Candy Company.

#10 Pepsi Was Resurrected By Offering Low Prices

While competitors were selling 6-ounce bottles for a nickel during the Great Depression, Pepsi began selling 12-ounce bottles for the same price. Their profits doubled. They even had a catchy jingle to make sure that consumers never forgot that their price was right. "Pepsi Cola hits the spot!"

#11 Coca-Cola Turned Down The Chance To Buy Pepsi... On Three Separate Occasions

It seems unbelievable to think that the two huge fizzy-drinks rivals would ever have cooperated with one another - but between 1922 and 1933 Coca-Cola was offered the chance to acquire the Pepsi-Cola company on three separate occasions. For unknown reasons, Coca-Cola turned down all these opportunities, instead wishing to focus on its own brand - and ensuring that a rivalry would exist between the two which still survives today.

#12 The Cola Wars Of The 1970s

In 1975, the company encouraged consumers to "Take the Pepsi Challenge" - which involved drinking Pepsi out of one plain cup and Coca-Cola out of another. The consumer would then be asked which they preferred - and the results showed a preference for the flavor of Pepsi. As a result, for the last 25 years of the 20th Century, the PepsiCo used the fact that people supposedly preferred their product to Coca-Cola in blind-tasting tests in commercials and advertisements. This famously became referred to as the "Cola Wars".

#13 Pepsi Used Mascots In Japan

In the 1990s, Pepsi Japan approached Canadian comic book artist Travis Charest to create a character to be used in their television commercials. Charest came up with a faceless superhero named Pepsiman, who ran around bringing the beverage to anyone in need. Pepsiwoman made her debut in a later commercial for Diet Pepsi Twist, and there was even a 1999 video game that involved guiding Pepsiman through obstacles so that he could deliver the carbonated drink to fans.

#14 They Made Pop Culture Work For Them

By the end of the last century, it was fashionable to be a Pepsi spokesperson. Every huge singer and entertainer began lining up to endorse the soda in highly publicized commercials, concerts, and events. The most famous endorsers of Pepsi include Michael Jackson, Ray Charles, Mariah Carey, Faith Hill, Jeff Gordon, Michale J. Fox, Janet Jackson, and most recently, Beyonce.

#15 They Began Endorsing Movies And Television Shows

Pepsi believed it was on to something big with all of their celebrity power and took it a step further. They became sponsors of sporting events, Nascar races, and even started inserting the products into major television shows and movies. You may recall Michael J. Fox getting a "Pepsi Perfect" in Back To The Future, or how it was inserted into Wayne's World. Of course, they also made sure that Pepsi was seen on TV as well in sitcoms, football night, and participation programs like The Voice. However, Laverne on Laverne & Shirley was drinking Pepsi way back in the 80s when she mixed it with milk every episode.

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