The latest news, trends, analysis, interviews and podcasts from the global food and beverage industry

PepsiCo has launched nitrogen-infused cola to add to its extensive beverage portfolio – named Nitro Pepsi – that creates a "smooth, creamy-textured" fizzy drink. Nitro Pepsi will be available in two flavours: Draft Cola and Vanilla Draft Cola. The new beverage contains a widget, often seen in beer and coffee products, placed at the bottom of every can which creates smaller bubbles. According to the company, the drink does not look and taste like traditional cola or soda.

Todd Kaplan, vice president of marketing at Pepsi, said: "While soda has been a beverage of choice for so many consumers over the past century, some people still cite heavy carbonation as a barrier to enjoying an ice-cold cola. With this in mind, we wanted to come up with a new way for people to enjoy delicious Pepsi cola, but with a new experience around the bubbles." "Nitro Pepsi is a first-of-its-kind innovation that creates a smooth, creamy, delicious taste experience for fans everywhere. Much like how nitrogen has transformed the beer and coffee categories, we believe Nitro Pepsi is a huge leap forward for the cola category and will redefine cola for years to come," Kaplan continued. Nitro Pepsi is available in both single-serve and four-pack varieties. The release will be available nationwide throughout the US starting on March 28 with pre-order starting on the Walmart website now.