Pepsi’s 1893 intros citrus, black currant flavors

PURCHASE, N.Y. — Pepsi’s 1893 cola brand is expanding its offerings, the company announced Wednesday with the unveiling of its Citrus Cola and Black Currant Cola flavors. 

 

“With bold, unique flavors and premium ingredients we are delivering the next generation of colas with 1893,” Pepsi senior director of marketing Stacy Taffet said. “We are thrilled to introduce Citrus and Black Currant to the portfolio, offering a modern take for consumers while honoring the original cola recipes created over a century ago by our founder.”

 

The company introduced 1893 in 2016 with its Original Cola and Ginger Cola flavors, inspired by the original recipes created by Pepsi founder Caleb Bradham in 1893 — a blend of kola nut extract, real sugar and sparkling water. The new citrus variety includes essence of grapefruit balanced with the Original Cola, and the black currant variety adds essence of black finish to the Original Cola variet for a berry finish. 

 

Pepsi said it would be supporting the new product launches with a mix of marketing to include TV and online advertising, with a new TV spot planned for spring. The company is using the message of to-shelf cola to inform all of the brand’s marketing this year, and will enlist some of the country’s top bartenders for its 1893 Top Shelf bartender program. The program is set to explore how contemporary mixologists incorporate past and present flavors around the kola nut into refined cocktails. 

 

The colas are packaged in 12-oz. cans and will be sold for a suggested retail price of $1.79.