Why Did Pepsi Kona and Pepsi A.M. Fail?
Pepsi Kona and Pepsi A.M. failed because consumers didn’t want to drink fizzy beverages at breakfast, according to CNN. Both versions of Pepsi failed after just a few months on the market.
Mental Floss states the that soda company rolled out Pepsi A.M. in 1989 because consumers were drinking less coffee. Despite containing 28 percent more caffeine than its regular product, Pepsi was unable to convince consumers that a morning can of cola was a good idea.
Pepsi Kona was released in 1996, only this time, the idea was to flavor the drink like coffee. This beverage also failed, as it never made it out of the test marketing stage. Again, consumers were not willing to replace warm, morning drinks with cold colas.
Boston University’s Daily Free Press reveals other Pepsi products failed while trying to capture niche markets. Crystal Pepsi, Pepsi Blue and Pepsi Ice Cucumber are other flavors that failed to win over consumers. While the company always tries to roll out new products to varying degrees of success, one strength of the brand has been contractual agreements with college and university campuses. As of 2009, Pepsi had more than 750 exclusive contracts with colleges. These contracts stipulate that the only sodas that can be served by cafeterias or in vending machines are those bottled by Pepsi.
