People Stunned As They Learn What Pepsi Means

We’ve written before at HuffPost UK about what everything from https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/twix-name-meaning_uk_65dc70e0e4b0189a6a7e98b4">Twix to https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/hobnob-name-meaning_uk_6630d17fe4b0c9bc8758d77a">HobNob and https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/haribo-name-meaning_uk_66b0ab67e4b022eb04aa0077" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">HARIBO really stands for. 

We’ve even shared the hidden detail in https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/twix-logo-hidden-meaning_uk_66c5abf6e4b0e284ae554bac">Twix’s clever branding. 

So what about Pepsi, the iconic red, white, and blue-branded soft drink?

Is its moniker some mixture of real, human names (like https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/haribo-name-meaning_uk_66b0ab67e4b022eb04aa0077">HARIBO), or a clever portmanteau (like https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/lego-name-meaning_uk_66c45afce4b0802831f06ede">LEGO)?

Is it an acronym or a clever reference (like how the name Marmite sneakily refers to its former cooking and distribution method)?

No, no, no, and no, it seems. 

The brand is actually named after indigestion. 

What?

I’m as surprised as you are.

But then again, I also didn’t know the beverage was https://contact.pepsico.com/pepsi/article/when-was-pepsi-cola-invented-how-did-it-get-its-name" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">originally called “Brad’s Drink.”

Its inventor, Caleb D. Bradham, changed the name in 1898.

https://contact.pepsico.com/pepsi/article/when-was-pepsi-cola-invented-how-did-it-get-its-name" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> Pepsi’s site merely says, “He bought the name ‘Pep Kola’ from a local competitor and changed it to Pepsi-Cola.” 

But https://www.latimes.com/food/sns-dailymeal-1856233-drink-pepsis-original-name-was-brads-drink-20171101-story.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">according to the LA Times, who heard from Dr. Sydnee McElroy and her husband Justin (both hosts of https://maximumfun.org/podcasts/sawbones/?_paged=3" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sawbones: A Marital Tour of Misguided Medicine), the name “derived from dyspepsia (ie, indigestion), which the beverage was supposed to assuage.”

https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/dyspepsia-and-pepsi" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">MEL Magazine says the drink’s supposed main ingredient, pepsin, was marketed as a way to get rid of stomach issues. 

“A 1902 advertisement that was developed with at least the blessing of Pepsi inventor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caleb_Bradham" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Caleb Bradham referred to it directly as ‘Pepsi-Cola (The Pepsin Drink),’” they wrote.

Pepsinhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537005/#:~:text=Pepsin%20is%20a%20stomach%20enzyme,1.5%20to%202)%20activates%20pepsin." rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> is an enzyme your stomach makes to help digest proteins in your food.

Though I couldn’t find that specific ad, https://www.firstversions.com/2016/07/pepsi-cola.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">I did find a 1902 ad that says it “aids digestion” and https://www.firstversions.com/2016/07/pepsi-cola.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a 1907 ad that reads ”[Pepsi] is an absolutely pure combination of pepsin ― for the ingestion ― acid phosphate and the juices of fresh fruits.” 

However https://pepsistore.com/history/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">according to Pepsi themselves, “Despite its name and hearsay, pepsin was never an ingredient of Pepsi-Cola.” 

How could people think it was a health drink?

Whether it comes from “dyspepsia” or “pepsin” (or perhaps a vague association with both), Pepsi was certainly marketed as a health aid at first.

They were far from alone, though.

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/i-just-learned-why-digestives-are-named-that-and-it-makes-so-much-sense_uk_6634e166e4b05f96b0181e0c">Digestives were originally marketed and designed as (you guessed it) digestion aids. 

https://www.maltesers.co.uk/our-story" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Maltesers were first sold as “energy balls” and used as diet food at first too, with a 1936 ad saying, “made LIGHT for energy... non-fattening.”

It wasn’t just food, either; around the same time, https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/does-bad-posture-reallyharm-you_uk_669e335ae4b030a2640a15b0">people thought sitting up straight would cure tuberculosis. 

What a world...