After 3 Years, PepsiCo Finally Announces Release Date For Pepsi Nitro

Some people call it soda, others call it pop, and for reasons that confound, another group of consumers calls it “coke.” Whatever you call fizzy, sweet carbonated soft drinks, the beverages follow a pretty standard template—sugar, flavor, water, and CO2 bubbles. 

One of the biggest producers of soda drinks, Pepsi, is ready to offer a new type of pop with the brand’s signature flavor in a new, creamy form called “Nitro Pepsi.”

Available in Cola and Vanilla Draft Cola, the new sodas replace CO2 with nitrogen gas, providing a smoother and creamier mouthfeel. The use of nitrogen for a frothy beverage isn’t novel, of course. Starbucks uses nitrogen for its cold brew coffee, as does Guinness for its signature stout, of course. Usually, such nitrogenated drinks, like Starbucks’ nitro cold brew, require a draft system. To replicate the tap-drawn experience, Pepsi has included a “widget” inside of Pepsi Nitro cans, much like Guinness. The soda maker recommends “hard pouring,” opening the can and fully inverting it into a glass, as well as skipping the straw for optimal drinking.

The new Pepsi nitro colas come in one of two colors, the brand’s signature blue for cola and a cream hue for vanilla. A metallic, gold-like yellow accentuates the cans and highlights the draft nitrogen features. The Pepsi globe is rendered in a single color with tiny little bubbles, tying back to the distinct mouthfeel of Pepsi Nitro in a visually compelling way.

Pepsi Nitro isn’t exactly new, however. The company had announced the new drink over three years ago and gave no reason for the stall in a press release. However, it’s easy to imagine supply chain issues and the pandemic more generally being the primary culprits. Whatever the case, Pepsi promises a national rollout starting March 28th, 2022.