USA: Sierra Mist, Pepsi’s new lemon-lime carbonate launches in US

Pepsi has launched its own lemon-lime alternative to Coca-Cola's Sprite and Cadbury Schweppes 7 UP, with the roll out of Sierra Mist in the US.Samples of this latest brand to join the Pepsi portfolio are available at football games and supermarket across the US and Pepsi intends to spend $50m on marketing what it describes as "a cleaner, more refreshing lemon-lime".Lemon-lime is the second largest soft drink segment in the US after the colas. Sierra Mist is to be positioned as a new age soda with marketing, packaging and advertising concentrating on its refreshing taste.Gary Rodkin, Pepsi's North American beverage executive told US press that Sierra Mist is meant to fill a hole in the company's soft drink portfolio, providing a lemon-lime to bottlers who don't have one. If Sierra Mist gets a 1% share of the market in its first year, Rodkin told US press: "We would be happy."Advertising for Sierra Mist is planned for mid-November and Pepsi also intends to push sales via restaurants, theatres and other such like accounts.