Japanese are staying cool as a cucumber this summer with "Pepsi Ice Cucumber" - a new soda based on the crisp green gourd.
The soft drink, which hit stores on June 12, doesn't actually have any cucumber in it, but it has been artificially flavored to resemble "the refreshing taste of a fresh cucumber," said Aya Takemoto, spokeswoman of Japan's Pepsi distributor, Suntory Ltd.
"We wanted a flavor that makes people think of keeping cool in the summer heat," Takemoto said. "We thought the cucumber was just perfect."
PHOTO: AP
The mint-colored soda is on sale just for the summer and only in Japan, Takemoto said. She said initial sales were brisk, and Suntory aims to sell 200,000 cases over the next three months.
Pepsi trails behind industry leaders Coca Cola (Japan) Company, with about 15 percent of the Japanese cola market, and also faces stiff competition from non-fizzy bottled drinks like green tea and coffee, which are popular in Japan.
Suntory said it sold 20.5 million cases of Pepsi brand drinks in 2006, including its popular Pepsi NEX zero-calorie soda.
日本人今夏以「百事冰黃瓜」的黃瓜口味新汽水來消暑。
百事可樂日本經銷商三得利公司的發言人竹本彩女士說,六月十二日上市的黃瓜汽水成分並非真含黃瓜,而是人工加味成「鮮黃瓜的清涼口味」。
「我們要讓人聯想到夏季消暑的口味,」竹本彩說︰「黃瓜口味再適合不過了。」
竹本彩指出,這款薄荷色的汽水僅在日本夏季限量販售,一開始就創下銷售佳績,三得利公司希望未來三個月能賣出二十萬箱。
日本百事的銷售落後同業大廠可口可樂,只佔可樂市場的15%,在綠茶與咖啡等非氣泡罐裝飲料受歡迎的同時,也面臨嚴酷競爭。
三得利公司表示,他們去年賣出了兩千零五十萬箱百事可樂相關飲品,其中包括暢銷的「Pepsi NEX」零卡路里百事可樂。 (美聯社:翻譯︰賴美君)
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