| Diet Pepsi (Classic Sweetener Blend) | ||
|---|---|---|
 A Diet Pepsi (Classic Sweetener Blend) Bottle. | ||
| Description | ||
| Flavor: | Cola | |
| Color: | Brown | |
| Details | ||
| Current Status: | Permanent Flavor | |
| Locations Available: | United States United Kingdom Italy Czech Republic Poland Argentina Spain Greece Turkey Russia Ukraine Brazil | |
| Year(s) Available: | 1963 - 2013, 2016 - Present 2005 - 2018 (Arby's) 2013, 2018 (Frisch's Big Boy) | |
| Related Flavors: | Pepsi Diet Pepsi (Aspartame Free) Pepsi Next Caffeine-Free Pepsi Pepsi Zero Sugar Pepsi Boom | |
| Related Promotions: | N/A | |
| Gallery | ||
Diet Pepsi (Classic Sweetener Blend) is a diet Pepsi cola variation of the popular soft drink with 0 calories.
History[]
Diet Pepsi was originally created in the United States under the name Patio in 1963. Following a positive reception attributed to the shifting dietary habits and preferences among the Baby Boom Generation at the time, the drink was re-branded as Diet Pepsi the following year. It became the first diet cola to be distributed on a national scale in the United States. Distribution was extended to the UK in 1983, where it is also referred to as Diet Pepsi. Distribution has since expanded to other countries around the world; though an alternate name is used in certain countries as Pepsi Light.
Diet Pepsi competed primarily with another diet cola named Tab in the 1960s and 1970s; however, The Coca-Cola Company introduced Diet Coke in 1982 and this product has since been the principal competing product to Diet Pepsi.
As of 2010, Diet Pepsi represented a 5.3 percent share of all carbonated soft drink sales in the United States, and was ranked as the #7 soft drink brand by volume. In the same year, Diet Coke was recorded as having a 9.9 percent market share.
In December 2012, an AP article reported that Diet Pepsi was changing its sweetener to sucralose ahead of a major rebranding of the soft drink set for January 2013.
In 2015, some people on Facebook and Twitter expressed their distaste for the Aspartame Free version. In response, Pepsi revived its aspartame formulation, as "Diet Pepsi Classic Sweetener Blend" for US markets in September 2016, and it was sold alongside the new formula.
In December 2017, the label for Diet Pepsi stated "Now Aspartame Free"/"Aspartame Free" and listed sucralose as the sweetener in the ingredients list. According to Pepsi-Cola manufacturer/distributor Wis-Pak, PepsiCo announced plans to reformulate Diet Pepsi back to its original formula, reverting its sweetener from sucralose to aspartame.
The new formulation was released in markets on February 25, 2018, and the Aspartame Free version became discontinued during the Classic Sweetener Blend was released fully.
As of April 2018, Arby's has switched to Coca-Cola products which means Arby's no longer serves Pepsi products in their soda fountains.
As of June 18th, 2018, Frisch's Big Boy is going to switch to Coca-Cola products which means Frisch's Big Boy no longer serves Pepsi products in their soda fountains. Coca-Cola products are expected to be in Frisch's soda fountains by September.