Chugging down bottles of maple syrup for sport isn’t something most of us are up for, but there is no denying the deliciousness of that sweet, sweet tree sauce.
Maple syrup isn’t just for pancakes, either. It’s excellent on breakfast meats like bacon, slathered atop doughnuts, and it can get made into tasty candy by simply setting it in the snow for a bit. The savvy soda sorcerers at Pepsi and pancake professors at IHOP have come up with a soda that combines the sweet indulgence of maple with the crisp, caramel taste of Pepsi Cola.
Pepsi Maple Syrup Cola’s soda can design swaps out the familiar Pepsi blue background with a more pancake-like beige. Viscous maple syrup pours down from the top of the label, coating the top of the Pepsi globe mark as it drips its way down the can. A small stack of butter-topped pancakes sits next to Pepsi’s logo, and the typography for “Maple Syrup” is just as indulgent and flows with smooth and thick curves, evocative of the sugary tree sap. Pepsi Maple Cola is a collab with IHOP, and the cans’ labels also get finished up with a bit of co-branding.
“There is truly nothing quite like the indulgent taste of Pepsi Maple Syrup Cola—sweet maple syrup blended with the refreshing taste of Pepsi cola. We couldn’t be more excited to partner with IHOP on this special initiative. It isn’t often we get to bring together two iconic brands to satisfy the cravings of pancake and Pepsi lovers alike,” said Todd Kaplan, chief marketing officer for Pepsi, in a press release. “We can’t wait to celebrate those who have an unapologetic love of pancakes by giving the limited-edition cans to 2,000 fans who #ShowUsYourStack online.”
The new Pepsi collab is the latest in a line of recent colas flavor experiments like Pepsi x Peeps, Cracker Jack Pepsi, and Pepsi Nitro. Pepsi Maple Syrup Cola will not be available in stores or at IHOP locations, and getting a taste will require some luck and posting a stack of pancakes on social media. Today, fans can enter a social media sweepstakes using hashtags #ShowUsYourStack #PepsiSweepstakes and tagging Pepsi and IHOP. One sweepstakes winner will also receive a custom spout modeled after IHOP’s syrup pitchers.
