PepsiCo to launch coffee drink, Pepsi Cafe, with ‘double the amount of caffeine’

Pepsi has something brewing.

Beverage giant PepsiCo, which brought in a whopping $65 billion in U.S. revenue last year, announced Thursday that it’s launching a caffeinated beverage, dubbed Pepsi Café, which it hopes will “awaken taste buds of cola lovers and coffee fanatics across the U.S.”

The 12-ounce slim cans, set for release in April 2020, will combine the deep flavor of Arabic coffee with the familiar taste of a Pepsi beverage, the company said in a statement. It will come in two flavors, Original and Vanilla, and have nearly double the caffeine of a normal Pepsi.

“We know that the consumers today are looking for products that meet the needs of energy, indulgence and refreshment during that afternoon pick-me-up occasion,” Pepsi Vice President of Marketing Todd Kaplan said in the memo. “We are confident that cola fans, iced coffee drinkers and anyone in need of an extra caffeine boost will love the unexpected flavor medley of roasted coffee infused into the refreshing, crisp flavor of Pepsi.”

The drink could have some big competition. Rival Coca-Cola launched a a coffee-cola drink, Coke Plus Coffee, which is only available internationally but the company has said it’s “optimistic about the potential for the beverage” in the United States.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
PEP	PEPSICO INC.	163.45	+0.73	+0.45%

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This is not the first time PepsiCo made a foray into the lucrative coffee industry. The company released Pepsi Kona in 1996, a coffee-flavored drink, which has since been discontinued. The brand, however, also inked the North America Coffee Partnership two decades ago, where it partners with Starbucks to sell bottled frappuccino drinks.

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PepsiCo’s stock is up 16 percent on the year and more than 24 percent year-to-date.

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