Crystal Clear: How false assumptions lead to Crystal Pepsi’s epic fail

By Seth Deutchman

Launched during the Super Bowl of 1993, Crystal Pepsi was an almost immediate sensation. Marketed as a healthier more natural alternative to Pepsi Cola, the soda’s initial success was short lived and the product was discontinued after less than a year. So what went so wrong? Why weren’t its initial sales sustainable?

Healthy is in, and healthy seeming is enough

In the early 90’s, sales of classic colas like Pepsi and Coke were flat, while lighter soft drinks such as Slice and Clearly Canadian were on the rise. Pepsi marketing genius, David Novak, assumed that this meant that occasional Pepsi drinkers wanted a lighter tasting, healthier-seeming alternative. That Crystal Pepsi wouldn’t actually be any healthier, they assumed wouldn’t actually matter. Many factors lead to the failure of Crystal Pepsi, but assuming that it didn’t matter if consumers were being deceived by marketing, certainly didn’t help build loyalty for the product.

The food scientists can work miracles

In developing the recipe for Crystal Pepsi there were some major technical difficulties and false assumptions. For starters, Surinder Kumar, the food scientist tasked with creating the taste of Crystal Pepsi was never allowed to see the full Pepsi Cola recipe he was riffing off of. Higher ups in the company falsely assumed that a finished refined taste could be achieved with just the partial information. That Crystal Pepsi went on to have complaints about the taste being too subtle initially and strange in its aftertaste undoubtedly has something to do with this.

It’s okay for branding to trump product quality

Another technical difficulty that was glossed over was the desire to brand the soda with a clear bottle. To show off the “Crystal” purity of the soda, the designers wanted it to come in a clear bottle. However, there is a reason clear bottles aren’t usually used for sodas; soda degrades and spoils in direct UV light. The color of the bottle is there to protect the taste of the soda inside, but designers waved away the concern, assuming that Kumar would concoct a drink impervious to sunlight or that the altered taste wouldn’t matter to consumers. Neither turned out to be true. Crystal Pepsi bought at convenience stores and gas stations often had an “odd” spoiled taste, further undermining consumer trust.

Never skip your research

Coke, threatened by the initial success of Crystal Pepsi set about undermining the product through deception. They launched a clear cola of their own, but branded it as “diet” in order to sow confusion about who Crystal Pepsi was intended for. This was effective because Pepsi had made assumptions about what their target consumer wanted. David Novak had assumed occasional Pepsi drinkers wanted a healthier alternative to Pepsi Cola, but also that the appearance of healthier was enough. Neither of these assumptions was ever challenged with research. Based on sales, it is probable the demand for a healthier soda was there but was unmet by the Crystal Pepsi product. Even more catastrophically, it is possible occasional Pepsi drinkers didn’t like or were put off by the very idea of a healthier soda.