Ice Cucumber Soda - Pepsi's Veggie Pop Gets Big in Japan

In a few weeks Pepsi sold out of 4.8 million bottles of the beverage, then rather than cranking out more they killed production. It seems that fad flavors are the norm in Japan and Pepsi had already gotten their ad buzz out of the green drink and were ready to move on to the next big thing. 1,500 new drinks come to marked each year in Japan, competing in the $30 billion a year beverage market. Very few will be winners like: Calpis, which has a tangy-sweet taste, is made from milk and lactobacillus, a type of bacteria that’s commonly used in the production of cheese, yogurt, beer, and wine. Bottled waters with an extra shot of oxygen are all the rage in Japan, thanks to a shift toward healthier drinks. Kirin’s Arginine V, is marketed as a pick-me-up potion for the sleep-deprived salaryman, this carbonated drink contains vitamins B1, B6, and Arginine, an amino acid that’s found in dairy products, nuts, seeds, and some seafood. And last but not least: What do you get when you mix beer and milk? Bilk! The Abashiri Brewery, a microbrewery on Japan’s northernmost main island of Hokkaido, came up with the idea of adding beer yeast and hops to milk to help local dairy farmers ride out declining milk sales. This drink is one-third milk by volume, has a cloudy, lemony-yellow appearance resembling the Belgian beer Hoegaarden, and tastes fruity. Since going on sale as a limited-edition drink in February, it has proved extremely popular, regularly selling out. Bottoms up!

Only a lucky few ever got to try Pepsi's Ice Cucumber soda. The pale green drink began appearing on shelves at Japanese convenience stores in early June. Within days, clips of people swigging the stuff were showing up on YouTube (GOOG ), and bloggers were debating whether the taste was more melon than cucumber. But instead of ratcheting up production, Pepsi brand managers in Japan did the unthinkable: They discontinued the drink. "We didn't want it on the market past the summer," says Keiko Ishihara, who oversees PepsiCo Inc. (PEP ) sales for Suntory, the Tokyo beverage maker that markets the soda giant's products in Japan. "The value of Ice Cucumber is that it's gone already." The warm reception the Japanese gave Ice Cucumber is just one manifestation of a national obsession with the ephemeral. Millions turn out every spring to view delicate cherry blossoms that open and then fall to the ground in just a week. And a word that sends consumers flocking to stores is gentei, Japanese for "limited edition." For years, candymakers have peddled one-off runs of sweets. Nestlé (NSRGY ), for instance, offers its KitKat bars in an array of gentei flavors and colors for every season, including Cantaloupe Melon and Koshian Maccha (green tea with red-bean filling). The limited edition candy bars are so sought after that they even show up for sale on eBay. (businessweek)