NEW YORK — PepsiCo’s quest to make soda edgy has brought it to one of the great restaurant towns of the world, where it will open its own joint with cuisine “inspired by the exploration of the kola nut.”
The opening of the “Kola House” in New York City’s trendy Meat Packing District, scheduled for this spring, comes at a time when Americans are cutting back on soda consumption.
In response, both Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc. have been attempting to reframe soda as something more premium. That has included glass bottles and mini-cans with a bigger price tag.
PepsiCo introduced a “craft soda” called Caleb’s, named after the inventor of Pepsi. Coke’s new marketing campaign, in a partnership with the technology company Hewlett-Packard, has splashed Diet Coke cans and bottles with colorful graphics.