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Pepsi Raw

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pepsi Raw
Bottles of Pepsi Raw
TypeCola soft drink
ManufacturerPepsiCo
OriginUnited Kingdom
Introduced2008
Discontinued2011; 15 years ago (2011)

Pepsi Raw[1] was a cola soft drink created by PepsiCo and Britvic as a "Sparkling Cola Drink with Natural Plant Extracts". The drink first launched in February 2008 in Britain, targeting upmarket pubs.[2] It was later launched in Norway in August 2010[3] and in Australia in 2011.

Marketing

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Cans of Pepsi Raw

Pepsi Raw contained naturally sourced ingredients that were free from artificial flavouring, colourings, preservatives, and sweeteners.[4] Advertising for Pepsi Raw presented the product as a natural alternative to other colas.

To help promote Pepsi Raw, an experiential marketing campaign dubbed "Natural Born Cola" was launched. Promotional teams traveled to grocery stores, shopping malls, train stations, and offices in key cities. 1,295,500 bottles of Pepsi Raw were distributed, with 82% of consumers saying they liked the taste and 75% claiming they would buy it.[5]

Ingredients

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Discontinuation

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In September 2010, it was announced that Pepsi Raw was to be withdrawn from the British market.[6] It was also discontinued in the Norwegian market in May 2011 due to low demand.[7]

Legacy

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Pepsi Natural

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A 12 fl oz bottle of Pepsi Natural

In March 2009, a product called Pepsi Natural, which has a recipe similar to that of Pepsi Raw[note 1], was rolled out in the United States and Mexico.[10] It did not stay in the market for long.

Pepsi Nama

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A product named Pepsi Nama [yue; zh] was launched in 2021 by Suntory, the Japanese distributor of PepsiCo. The marketing stresses that the cola spices are not heated and therefore the drink is natural.[11][12] Officially, its Japanese product name's kanji character '生' corresponds to 'Nama' in English, but is sometimes translated as 'Raw' in English.[13]

While 'Pepsi Nama' and 'Pepsi Raw' are by and large technically unrelated, they are often discussed together because of their names. Pepsi Nama, unlike Pepsi Raw, comes in other flavours. For the PRC market, PepsiCo has its own production lines for them in Mainland China, which are also responsible for their supply to Hong Kong and Macao; for the ROC market, Vedan is appointed to produce them in Taiwan.[14]

Notes

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  1. ↑ Some focused sources write that they are different according to a representative of PepsiCo, and that their calory densities are not the same according to their nutrition labels.[8] Some sources vaguely regard them as the same, but they are only passing mentions.[9]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "PEPSI RAW - Trademark Details". Justia Trademarks. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  2. ↑ Dinkovski, Noli (2008-02-11). "Pepsi launches Raw". MorningAdvertiser.co.uk. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  3. ↑ HegnarOnline. "Pepsi Raw har floppet". Hegnar Online. Archived from the original on 2014-04-28. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  4. ↑ "Pepsi launch new drink made from 'all natural' ingredients - Times Online". www.timesonline.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2008-10-07. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  5. ↑ "Pepsi Raw Experiential Marketing Results". iD Experiential. Archived from the original on 2010-08-05. Retrieved 2010-10-12.
  6. ↑ "Pepsi Raw removed from UK market". Marketing Week. Archived from the original on 2014-08-21. Retrieved 2011-01-13.
  7. ↑ "Kort karriere for Pepsi Raw". DinSide (in Norwegian Bokmål). Archived from the original on 2014-04-28. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  8. ↑ "Pepsi Natural » Review of Pepsi's new "all natural" beverage sweetened with sugar - BevReview.com". www.bevreview.com. Archived from the original on 2016-04-07. Retrieved 2026-04-29.
  9. ↑ O'Reilly, Lara. "Pepsi's New Green Cola Looks Exactly Like Coca-Cola's New Green Cola". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 2019-03-08. Retrieved 2026-04-28.
  10. ↑ "Beverage R&D: Health weighs in against costs | Beverage Industry". www.bevindustry.com. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  11. ↑ ""Raw Pepsi," the most refreshing flavor ever, is out in Japan, but how does it taste?". SoraNews24. 23 June 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  12. ↑ https://www.suntory.com/softdrink/company/business.html
  13. ↑ Murray, Dylan (2025-08-19). "The Japanese Pepsi Flavor That We're Desperate To Get In The US". The Takeout. Retrieved 2026-04-03.
  14. ↑ "Pepsi-VEDAN". www.vedan.com. Retrieved 2026-04-03.
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