PepsiCo to launch fizzy drinks under Slice brand
NEWDELHI: PepsiCo Inc. is bringing back Slice in its original form as an aerated drink with 10% real fruit juice, just as it first introduced the product in the US in 1984.
Slice, which was discontinued in the US in 2000s, now sells only in India, as a mango juice.
In its new avatar, Slice will come with a few twists — more fruit content, less calorie and with new flavours some of which are ethnic Indian. To be sure, this is the first category extension for Slice that PepsiCo India Holdings Pvt Ltd launched in India as a mango drink in 1993.
Priced at ₹12 for 250ml PET bottle, fizzy Slice will be about 30% cheaper than other carbonated and non-carbonated drinks that PepsiCo sells in India.
“We will shortly be introducing an affordable range of locally relevant fruit juice drinks with fizz under the Slice brand,” said Vipul Prakash, senior vice-president (beverage category), PepsiCo India said.
The new range of Slice, PepsiCo India said in a statement, is “fruit juice drink with fizz” that will include both “ethnic favourites like jeera, guava chili and mainstream flavours like apple, lemon, orange and clear lime”.
“All these variants will have over 11% juice,” the company said. According to the company, the new range of fizzy Slice will have less calories in line with PepsiCo’s global agenda of lowering calorie content in its products.
It aims to have at least two third of portfolio with 100 calories or less from added sugars per 355ml of serving by 2025.
With the lower pricing, PepsiCo is hoping to gain share in rural and semi-urban markets that are growing faster than the metro markets and are currently dominated by juice and regional cola brands, such as Bovonto in Tamil Nadu and Jayanti Cola in non-metro northern India, among others.