Pepsi

Created in 1893 by Caleb Bradham for sale in his drugstore in New Bern, North Carolina. The drink was initially sold as Brad’s Drink. Not exactly the catchiest name going around, the beverage was rebranded as Pepsi Cola in 1898.

The Cola portion of the name comes from the kola nut, a source of caffeine, which was one of the original drink’s ingredients. The Pepsi part honours the digestive enzyme pepsin, which is made in our stomach and helps us to break down proteins into peptides and amino acids that can then break absorbed by our small intestine.

A quick look at Pepsi’s ingredients page now shows that no kola nuts were harmed in the making of modern versions of the drink.

Pepsi’s parent company is PepsiCo, which owns a whole range of fizzy, soft and fruit drink brands, including Gatorade, Tropicana, Mirinda, and Aquafina.

PepsiCo also owns Quaker Foods, maker of Quaker Oats and Cap’n Crunch, and Frito-Lay, Lay’s, Ruffles, Doritos and Cheetos chips in North America.