Yes, caffeine-free Pepsi is still made by Pepsico. It is noticeable in the grocery store by its gold label or packaging color. Diet Caffeine-Free Pepsi has a primarily white label and packaging with gold lettering and a gold bottle cap or lid. See the images below for a visual.
Origins of Caffeine-Free Pepsi
7Up (owned by Philip Morris at the time) introduced a 99 percent caffeine-free soda in early 1982 called Like Cola. It was marketed with an anti-caffeine message of “You Don’t Need Caffeine, Neither Does Your Cola“. Like Cola was the first to test the market in the early 1980s for caffeine-free cola consumer demand. The positive test results of Like Cola caused Pepsi and Coca-Cola to quickly get their caffeine-free versions of cola to the market.
Caffeine-free Pepsi was launched in the summer of 1982 and was called Pepsi Free. Pepsi-Cola Co. made a regular 99.7 percent caffeine-free cola and a one calorie, zero sugar version of Pepsi Free, according to the Washington Post. Pepsi knew there was a demand for caffeine-free cola at the time, but it was unclear to executives how large this market would become.
Coca-Cola followed Pepsi’s and Like Cola’s lead and launched Caffeine-Free Coca-Cola in 1983. Today, you can purchase Caffeine-Free Coca-Cola, Diet Coke Caffeine-Free, and Coke Zero Caffeine-Free.
Like Cola rapidly was discontinued due to the strong competition of Pepsi and Coca-Cola.
Caffeine-Free Colas
Here are some options for colas that are caffeine-free. While there are a few alternatives out there, Coke and Pepsi still dominate the market for caffeine-free cola.
| Caffeine-Free Pepsi Caffeine-Free Diet Pepsi |
| Caffeine-Free Coca-Cola Caffeine-Free Diet Coke Caffeine-Free Coke Zero |
| Caffeine-Free Zevia Cola |
| Virgil’s Zero Sugar (Caffeine-Free) Soda |
| 365 Everyday Caffeine-Free Soda |
| Sam’s Diet Cola Caffeine-Free |
| H-E-B Diet Caffeine-Free Original Cola |
| Big K Diet Cola Caffeine-Free (Kroger) |
| Shasta Cola Caffeine-Free |