Consumed by stress? Pepsico has the answer in the form of a new soft drink that’s supposed to help you sleep.
The company’s own employees came up with an idea, as part of an internal competition launched last year by CEO Ramon Laguarta, for a beverage to help consumers de-stress and relax before bed.
Little did they know that come 2020, the world would need the concoction more than ever.
The result is ‘Driftwell’, an enhanced water drink containing 200 grams of L-theanine, an amino acid that’s found in green and black teas as well as certain mushrooms. Some studies suggest the ingredient can improve sleep quality and can help reduce the physical reaction of stress. Driftwell also contains 10 per cent of the recommended daily intake of magnesium. The drink will be trialled in single blackberry lavender flavour and comes in 7.5 ounce mini-cans.
Emily Silver, Vice President of Innovation and Capabilities at Pepsi’s North American beverages unit, described the drink as the fastest new product to ever come out of the company. “From a scientific and regulatory perspective, we feel really good about making that claim around L-theanine. Specifically, we have safety in clinical data to prove that it works,” Silver said.
The innovation will initially be rolled out in the United States on e-commerce sites from December and in grocery stores by the first quarter of 2021.
