For Better Or Worse, Crystal Pepsi May Be Coming Back

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(Paxton Holley)

Back in 1992-93, my senior year of high school, every supermarket and convenience store in the Orlando area seemed packed to the gills with Crystal Pepsi. But almost as quickly as the clear cola appeared on the scene, it had vanished into the ether to join other failed fizzy drinks in the soda afterlife. But some still hold fond memories of Crystal Pepsi’s brief time among mortals and it looks like the product may be due for a return from the grave.

AdAge notes that competitive eater (and Crystal Pepsi fan) Kevin Strahle recently Tweeted that he’d received a letter from Pepsi (on Crystal Pepsi letterhead no less), saying that “We’ve had customers ask us to bring back their favorite products before, but never with your level of enthusiasm and humor.”

The letter concludes by teasing that “We definitely hear you and your followers and we thing you’ll be happy with what’s in store… Stay tuned.”

A rep for PepsiCo confirmed to AdAge that the letter was genuine but would only say that “Crystal Pepsi fans are going to be happy with what we have planned,” without providing any actual details on what that plan might be.

It’s possible Pepsi could follow Coca-Cola’s lead and make some sort of limited-time deal with a single e-commerce seller. Last year, Coke produced a small amount of its Surge soda exclusively for Amazon and the product sold out almost right away.

However, it’s worth noting that Surge had only been off store shelves for about 12 years when it was brought back (momentarily) from the dead. Also, the drink had been on the market for about six years before being killed off. Compare that to Crystal Pepsi, which has been gone for more than 20 years and never really got past the initial marketing push.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist