Pepsi Revives The Cola War With New Mini Bottles

Despite the corporate battle being more expensive than ever, the idea of the “Cola War” is practically dead in 2026. We’ve all become so used to Pepsi and Coca-Cola chasing each other’s innovations that it barely raises an eyebrow when Coca-Cola Cherry Float debuts just a year after Pepsi Wild Cherry & Cream hit shelves. That said, every once in a while, a shot is fired so transparently that I have to call it out.

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Yesterday, an eagle-eyed fan posted a new 13oz bottle to the Mountain Dew subreddit. I did my own digging and discovered a total of five sodas with listings in that new bottle size. This might seem like a strange bottle size to release out of nowhere… unless you know that one of Coca-Cola‘s largest bottlers debuted a 12.9oz bottle a few years ago.

To be clear, I haven’t received any official press release or announcement about this new format; everything I’m about to say is pure conjecture from a humble soda enthusiast. Since the bottle is publicly visible on Pepsi‘s SmartLabel directory, I see no ethical issue discussing why I think these bottles exist and what market they may be trying to reach.

I’m not a bottle size expert. Can you explain the difference between this new Pepsi bottle and what I can already find at the gas station?

As someone who recently demonstrated my party trick of identifying the size of any container within a few ounces at a press event, I know that 99% of people have no reason to know the standard soda sizes by heart. Here’s a quick rundown for everyone who has a normal, non-soda-related job. (You can also head over to Jordan’s ranking of five different Coca-Cola vessels if you’d like visual references.)

• Your standard soda can, offered in a 12-pack, contains 12 ounces. (Your standard slim energy drink can from Alani Nu or Celsius also contains 12 ounces; it’s just taller to trick you into thinking it’s bigger.)
• Your standard soda bottle, sold individually at the grocery or convenience store, contains 20 ounces.
• Your slimmer-than-standard soda bottle, offered in a 6-pack, contains 16.9 ounces.
• Your newly-standard mini soda can, offered in a 10-pack, contains 7.5 ounces.

So, with all those options, why does Pepsi think it’s a good idea to release a new 13oz “in-between” bottle size? There’s an easy answer, folks: Coke did it first!

When did Coca-Cola make tiny bottles like this?

Technically speaking, The Coca-Cola Company did not decide to produce a new line of smaller plastic bottles. Coca-Cola Consolidated, one of the largest Coca-Cola bottlers in the country, debuted a new line of 12.9oz bottles in 2022. (Presumably, Coca-Cola Consolidated worked with The Coca-Cola Company to do so; I can’t imagine they could just put Coke in a new bottle without getting permission.)

That new “Discovery Contour” bottle was released in 2022 as the first bottle sold at a sub-$2 price point. The smaller size means more flavors can be stocked on a single shelf, while the shape itself is actually closer to Coca-Cola’s iconic glass bottles than the widely available 20oz bottles. The caffeine-sensitive among us can also enjoy a drink with lower caffeine content and consume it over time without losing all the carbonation.

Positives aside, it was still a gamble to offer a higher-priced replacement for the 12oz can regularly found in convenience coolers. 4 years later, I can still find all kinds of Discovery Contour bottles for sale near me; it looks like the gamble paid off, and Pepsi has officially taken notice.

Which Pepsi sodas will debut in this new 13oz bottle format?

As of today, five sodas are listed on SmartLabel in this new 13oz format: Pepsi, Pepsi Zero Sugar, Mountain Dew, Diet Mountain Dew, and Mountain Dew Baja Blast. While we won’t know for sure whether all five of these will actually hit shelves until I get an official statement from Pepsi, it’s extremely likely they’ll be sold somewhere if Pepsi has gone through the trouble of listing them on SmartLabel.