This Pepsi Flavor Flop Is Slated To Return In 2027

Honestly I don’t even care about “dating” myself with this one: I was there. When it happened. When this magical, unexpected, at-the-time-yes-mind-blowing soda innovation first came out―I was there, cracking cans on the front lines of the fizzy future. And I think I can speak for a generation when I say―minds were blown. 

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You’ve probably already guessed (if not, that’s fair): I’m talking about Crystal Pepsi. One of the earliest, at-the-time wildest innovations in soda we’d ever experienced was also divisively characterized as one of the great commercial flops in product innovation history. But there’s some good news for soda and nostalgia freaks alike: there’s a chance Crystal Pepsi is finally coming back next spring. 

What Was Crystal Pepsi?

Yes, we’ve had our fair share of soda innovations in the last few years (protein pop, anyone?). But back when it came out in 1992, Crystal Pepsi really was like, one of the strangest and most radical beverage innovations in the soda. Pepsi first came out with Crystal Pepsi early in ’92, with a secret limited release in five major U.S. cities. The drink was such a hit, Pepsi unleashed the crystal magic of it nationwide by the end of the year. 

But the difference wasn’t only in the coloring. Yes, Crystal Pepsi was so-called because they dropped the traditional caramel coloring we associate with cola products. But they also used clear corn syrup and went caffeine free. Crystal Pepsi creator David Novak wanted to boost regular Pepsi sales and looked to the light, citrus-based soda market for inspiration. That is, however, a very good way of approximating what the flavor was like: cola-esque, with a Sprite-like freshness, minus lemon-lime (think of the lighter notes of cola, delicate spice, and again also just…magic?).

A Flop Or Cult Classic?

It might have crashed and burned in economical terms, fine―but it’s a cult classic, with a serious fan-base. Ask anyone who was around for the Van Halen commercial (yes, the weirdest best ’90s soda commercial ever) and you’ll hear the sound of nostalgic thirst. But before any of us start marking our 2027 calendars, so far our only sources are social media-based. They’re big accounts, and clearly run by people with enough passion for stuff like this to do their homework. According to an announcement by @teamsupernovafb: “YOU ASKED (AND ASKED AND ASKED) and now it’s reportedly coming back!! THE fan favorite Pepsi, Crystal Pepsi is making a return in May of 2027 in BOTH cans and bottles and both full AND zero sugar!”

A quick caveat, though: according to its soda fan-base Wiki, there have been online rumors of a Crystal Pepsi return before, as well as actual (but very limited, even sweepstakes-based) releases sporadically from 2015 through 2022. So as much as we trust (and hope!) in the passion of our favorite online beverage sleuths, we’ll remain a bit skeptical until we see or hear something from PepsiCo themselves. In the meantime, we can dream of Crystal Pepsi the way it used to be… because we already have that Van Halen song stuck in our heads.