Pepsi Collaborates with Raison Pure to Launch Two Flavor 'Innovations'

"Raison Pure brings a fresh and exciting perspective to our flavor innovations," says Melanie Hardman, innovation director of cola at Pepsico.

In the world of consumer beverages, Pepsico International considers the Pepsi brand image and packaging to be very innovative. Pepsi is constantly developing ways to promote the brand with new designs and new products--some with wide release and some with limited release.

Pepsi calls the Cino and Samba limited release flavors "special innovations" rather than new flavors, and consequently both may be history after this season. Marion Schneider, senior art director for the Pepsi brand, explains that there were a number of new projects in the works when the timing of the Pepsi Cino and Pepsi Samba innovations were moved up for seasonal releases. "These were the two that came out the strongest," Schneider says.

Pepsi Cino launched this past November in targeted European markets (Russia, Romania, and Switzerland), and Pepsi Samba had a summer release at about the same time in Australia. Both were scheduled to expand their reach shortly after their initial launch. Pepsi Cino was envisioned as a fusion of cola and coffee (cappucCINO), and Pepsi Samba is a fusion of cola and tropical fruit flavors, or an "exotic fruit blend." Raison Pure International worked closely with Pepsi to refine the Cino and Samba packaging concepts for multiple sizes of cans and PET bottles.

Jeanette Palmer, director of client services at Raison Pure USA in Manhattan, believes the success of both package designs comes from an effort to be decidedly figurative rather than literal. Palmer was glad that Pepsi gave Raison Pure "a little more leeway" in expanding the Pepsi brand image, and Raison Pure was able to find the right finesse while hitting both the Cino and Samba design goals within a short lead time.

In a café mood

The intention of the Pepsi Cino beverage was to hit the "top note" of coffee flavor (a mocha-latte shot) in both the drink formulation and in the package design. The graphics emphasize the very specific personality of this new beverage as a mix of taste and style--the unique cola/coffee taste and the distinctive "café mood."

Pepsi Cino was to appeal to a more adult consumer, so Raison Pure morphed the Pepsi image into a mature, sophisticated mood--something akin to "Pepsi's big brother"--and designed a racy Cino wordmark reminiscent of a motorcycle logo. The result is an appealing balance between the Pepsi globe logo, blue colors, the Cino wordmark, and the steamy/creamy cappuccino-like background. Raison Pure was able to achieve a three-dimensional sea of colors that suggests the fusion of flavors within.

Off to Rio in two sips

Raison Pure and Pepsi designed the Pepsi Samba cans and bottles to invite consumers to join in the Latin American carnival atmosphere. Raison Pure created graphics that move, evoking the sensual style and colors of Brazilian dance and costume. The graphic curves suggest the way fabric flows when a dancer is twisting back and forth.

The exotic fruit blend is expressed with a choice of fresh and appealing colors balanced with a strong Pepsi presence and a lighter shade of Pepsi blue. "The goal was to create a mood," says Palmer. The festive tone and warm atmosphere have a summery and active presence, accented by shadowy costumed dancer caricatures around the bottom of the cans and bottle labels.