Packed with a punch: SA votes Pepsi Max as better tasting zero-sugar drink — again

The world-famous Pepsi Max Taste Challenge took SA by storm at the end of 2022 and refreshed the way people think about their zero-sugar drink preferences. 

Participants blind tasted two zero-sugar colas and identified their favourite: Pepsi Max or a competing zero-sugar cola. 

After the strong results in favour of Pepsi Max in November 2022, PepsiCo continued the Taste Challenge throughout the festive season in Durban, Cape Town, Pretoria, Joburg and the Eastern Cape. 

Participants took part in the Pepsi Max Taste Challenge across 18 different sites in these major cities between September 2022 and January 2023.

Supervisors were on site to ensure all variables were controlled, like making sure the temperature of both zero-sugar colas always remained equal. 

Here are the regional results of participants who prefer the taste of Pepsi Max:  

• 72%* in Durban; 
• 68%* in Cape Town;
• 66%* in Pretoria;
• 64%* in Joburg; and
• 63%* in Gqeberha 

Globally, Pepsi Max has seen strong results and preference in this challenge and it's been exciting adding SA to the list. 

“We are blown away by the results of this challenge and the positive feedback from participants. We may hold a smaller market share in SA, but Pepsi Max has packed a strong punch, and we look forward to seeing the growth,” says Marius Vorster, PepsiCo marketing director for West, East and Central Africa. 

“We are all guilty of shopping in autopilot mode — grabbing the usual items. This challenge is incredible because it forces people to re-evaluate their taste. By removing all branding from the zero-sugar colas, so participants could focus on taste alone, hundreds of people were surprised by their own results.” 

“Our goal was to empower our consumers to try Pepsi Max if they had never done so, and put their taste buds to the test to find their favourite zero-sugar cola. With these results, could it be time to change your drink to Pepsi Max?”

^{*2,378 of the 3,318 Durban consumers, 2,679 of the 3,952 Cape Town consumers, 3,120 of the 4,871 Joburg consumers, 900 of the 1,365 Pretoria consumers, 636 of the 1,014 Gqeberha consumers.} 

This article was paid for by Pepsi Max.