A low-carbohydrate, low-calorie cola made by Pepsico and introduced in the summer of 2004, Pepsi Edge is a direct competitor to Coca-Cola C2.
After the explosive popularity of the Atkins Diet across America in early 2004, many food and drink companies quickly rushed out "low-carb" versions of popular brands. Coke and Pepsi already have diet drinks that contain zero calories and zero carbs, but many long-time cola drinkers are put off by the harsh aftertaste of aspartame (aka Nutrasweet). Pepsi Edge is a soda which promises "50% less sugar than the average top 3 national colas," according to the bottle. Instead of aspartame, Edge uses sucralose (aka Splenda) as an artificial sweetener.
Pepsi Edge is packaged in 20-ounce bottles and 12-ounce cans with trade dress that more closely resembles regular Pepsi than Diet Pepsi. The packaging also sports a masculine blue-and-silver color scheme and a text layout reminiscent of the Europe-only Pepsi Max.
So what distinguishes Pepsi Edge from Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi One, Pepsi Twist, Pepsi Vanilla, and the now-defunct Pepsi Blue? Edge is part of a branding scheme also perpetrated by Frito-Lay, the snack food company which Pepsico owns. Over the summer, Pepsi Edge will be joined by low-carb snacks such as Doritos Edge and Tostitos Edge that use soy protein as an alternative to traditional "high-carb" chips.
Pepsi Edge tastes like it was made from a highly-advanced, top secret, proprietary industrial process known as "mixing Pepsi and Diet Pepsi together in equal proportions" even though it contains sucralose instead of Diet Pepsi's aspartame. It contains exactly half the calories of ordinary Pepsi but has a less-harsh aftertaste than Diet Pepsi. I noticed a similar taste and aftertaste with C2, which is also sweetened with a blend of high fructose corn syrup and sucralose. As a lifelong regular-cola drinker, I can easily detect the weak taste I've come to dislike in diet colas. I wouldn't recommend it unless you really want to cut carbs -- and if you do, you shouldn't be drinking something as unhealthy as cola in the first place!
Nutritional Info
All figures are based on an 8 fluid ounce serving.
Pepsi-Cola Pepsi Edge Diet Pepsi
Calories 100 50 0
Sodium (mg) 25 25 25
Carbohydrates (g) 27 13 0
Sugar (g) 27 13 0
Caffeine (mg) 25 * 24
* Not provided by Pepsico on their web site.
Ingredients of Pepsi Edge: carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup and/or sugar, caramel color, phosphoric acid, natural flavors, caffeine, sucralose, citric acid, and gum arabic.
Sources
- http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,108373,00.html
- http://www.pepsi.com/pepsi_brands/product_info/index.php
- http://www.pepsi.com/help/faqs/faq.php?category=pepsi_brands&page=pepsi_edge
- http://www.pepsi.com/help/faqs/faq.php?category=pepsi_brands&page=pepsi#diet