Josta Energy Drink (History, Pictures & Commercials)

Josta was the first major energy drink marketed in America. Before 1995, no large-scale company has tried to sell an energy drink in the United States. Pepsi, the company that made Josta energy drink, saw an opening and made a move to roll out this new and fascinating drink. Josta energy drink had a somewhat fruity taste and it included guarana, giving it an almost maple flavor! You can learn all about Josta energy drink on this page, check it out!

History

Pepsi Co has a long history of not only distributing the greatest in soft drinks but is also known as being Coca-Cola‘s arch enemy. The two companies have been going at it for years. Trying to outdo each other in the realm of seeing who can sell and create the most products.

The two main products that it has been selling consistently are almost totally the same. (coke’s consistency has more syrup). The 70s brought the Pepsi challenge, which was the marketing campaign to see if customers could decide for themselves which drink tasted better.  The battle between these 2 great soda company’s led to a wave of new flavors of drink types. One of those new advancements was the energy drink Josta, produced by

Pepsi was eager to step their drink business up a notch. Looking for an edge, Pepsi came out with an energy drink to offer something new to consumers. Energy drinks have been selling in the markets for a number of years on a smaller scale before Pepsi got involved. but before the mid-90s, no major US-based corporation had ever distributed its own.

With that said, Pepsi® rolled out with Josta. Josta was an energy drink and the first of its kind that was distributed on a massive scale in America. Energy drinks are nothing more than just soda but with several times more caffeine and large amounts of sugar. Controversy has been stirring over energy drinks because of the safety and health hazards that some say pose to children or people with heart troubles and could have their health jeopardized. The FDA has so far does not seem too concerned and has refused to make soft drink companies place the contents of caffeine on their bottles and cans.

The flavor of the Josta drinks has been described as fruity and rather sweet. Also of interest, it has the rather unique addition of Guarana, a maple-type plant, that made the flavor sweeter. Other than large amounts of caffeine and sugar, the rest of the recipe can be found on the bottle but since this 90s candy hasn’t been produced since 1999, you are very unlikely to find out and there isn’t any hope for Pepsi to release the information about what was in them. It’s probably safe to say that by the late 90s, there had been more energy drinks being released by not only the Pepsi® bottling company, also other soft drink companies.

These new products might have stolen a significant amount of the Josta drinks thunder and made the sales of them drop and soon disappear from the market shelves. Unlike many old drinks that resemble so many others that would go unnoticed, or those that are only small variants from the original, the Josta drink hasn’t gone unremembered and the presence of its cult following is noticeable on the internet and blogs.

There is even a website dedicated to compelling the Pepsi® company to bring the Josta drink back. There is little chance that their efforts would yield any fruit, and it’s also unlikely since the company wouldn’t want to start making them again if the sales had dropped so significantly when other drinks were being created and distributed through several different retailers.

The energy drink craze is continually growing and inspiring more consumers. With brands like Monster Energy and Quake being displayed on numerous advertising media like race cars, television commercials and many others, it seems like it has no signs of ever stopping. Despite the continually growing controversy that the drink has attracted since they have become popular, they are still alive and well.

The controversy stems from the fact that not only have the soft drink companies not labeled the nutrition facts on the cans with the amounts of caffeine but there have also been deaths in the past that are directly connected with the drinks. Provided that the people that had died from the consumption of these drinks, are yet to be prosecuted for distributing a contaminated substance.

Many of its consumers are teenagers that have healthy hearts and are unlikely to have heart problems and die from the consumption of large amounts of caffeine. The negative reputation seems to have no effect on sales because they are higher than ever and kids have easier access to them via convenient stores, vending machines and classmates that always seem to bring a can for everyone on different occasions.

These drinks have no sign of stopping any time soon and the companies refuse to change the ingredients. Health hazards have not only stemmed from the heart and other stimulant-related problems, the health risks are also associated with the consumption of large amounts of sugar which has been proven to be a bad thing.

Addiction also accompanies the consumption of these drinks and because of this and their questionable recipe, the number of deaths connected with these drinks is predicted to become larger. If you are thinking of enjoying one of these drinks, it’s not recommended that you should drink a large amount all at once. Overconsumption has been proven to be health hazardous. It’s better not to drink these at all but if you are compelled to do so, it’s recommended that you consume them in small quantities. But the smaller cans.

The Company That Invented The Josta Energy Drink

The Josta energy drink was invented by PepsiCo Inc. Pepsi co is a huge company that makes many different types of snacks and drinks. Their reach extends across many different counties around the world.

The Year Josta Was Made

Josta first came out in the year of 1995. Before that, there were no big-name brand energy drinks on the scene. Josta was PepsiCo’s first energy drink and it became a hit before eventually being scaled back as its popularity declined.

Is Josta Soda Still For sale?

Everyone wants to know if Josta is still sold in stores or online. The sad news Is that Josta was discontinued years ago. We have still not been able to find any sources left of Josta soda. Please let us know in our comments section if you have spotted any remaining supplies of Josta for sale, as others would love to know.

When Was Josta Discontinued?

It appears Josta energy drink stopped being sold in the year 1999. There are still the occasional requests that float around online asking for Josta energy drink to be produced again. However, nothing yet from Pepsi shows that it will ever be willing to produce josta again. A group called the Association for Josta Saving was started to try to keep Josta sold, however it did not work. Several “save Josta” campaigns have been started over the last decade to try to get Pepsi to reintroduce Josta. A major website trying to bring back Josta energy drink Is http://savejosta.org/.

Why Was Josta Discontinued?

There are several theories around why Josta energy drink was discontinued. The official statement from Pepsi seems to be that they got rid of Josta due to a “change in cooperating strategy.” Some suspect that Pepsi may have sacrificed Josta to concentrate on its Slice drink lineup. Slice is a line of fruity soft drinks, and some believe that Pepsi gave Josta the “Ax” so it could promote its Slice Soda line. If that were true it could be due to the market for those drinks eating into each other’s sales. But all we know for sure is that Josta did not go along with Pepsi’s strategy anymore, whatever that may be.

Fans can only hope that Pepsi may come around, sometimes companies do respond if fans ask for enough decades. Black Jack Gum’s reintroduction is a good example of fan support bringing a product back, you never know, Josta just maybe back one these days.

Slogan

The slogan for Josta energy drink is “better do the good stuff now.” This was shown in their TV advertisement in the 1990s.

What Did Josta Taste Like?

Josta energy drink had a fruity and sugary taste to it, many found it pleasant but a bit strongly flavored. It reminded many of a more fruity and spicy version of the drink ginger-ale, often accredited to the guarana in Josta. Some people even say that Josta energy drink eminds them a bit of the taste of cough syrup, but in a pleasant way. Josta was not for everyone, some found the fruit taste to be a bit too “chemical” tasting, rather them maple-like. Still many found the flavor of guarana that gave it its maple-like taste to be pleasant.

Is Josta’s recipe available?

No one knows the exact recipe of the Josta formula, and no duplicate products have yet been made. However, one person seems to be striving to perfect the ultimate copy of Josta’s recipe. While it does not appear to be exact, fans of the drink Josta may wish to take a look at it. You can head on over and read about it over at http://josta.mervernation.com/.

Are There Any Alternatives That Taste Like Josta? 

There are not many people who remember the taste of Josta Energy drink, for those who do or those wishing to try it for the first time there are some known alternatives. Herbal Dr. Enuf contains both ginseng and guarana and is said to taste much like Josta. Another possibility you can try may be hard to find but is said to be similar to Josta, it is called Guarana Brazilia.

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Nutrition

Serving Size:	1 Fl Oz (1.1 oz)	% Daily Value *
Amount Per Serving
Calories	12
Calories from Fat	0
Total Fat	0g	0%
Saturated Fat	0g
Cholesterol	0mg
Sodium	1.2mg
Total Carbohydrate	3.2g	1.1%
Dietary Fiber	0g	0%
Sugars (Added)	3.3g
Protein	0g	0%
Vitamin A	0IU
Vitamin B6	0mg
Vitamin B12	0mcg
Vitamin C	0mg
Vitamin D	0mcg
Vitamin E	0mg
Vitamin K	0mcg
Calcium (Ca)	0.6mg
Copper (Cu)	0mg
Iron (Fe)	0mg
Magnesium (Mg)	0mg
Manganese (Mn)	0mg
Potassium (K)	0.9mg
Phosphorus (P)	3.3mg
Selenium (Se)	0mcg
Zinc (Zn)	0mg

Pictures

Commercials

Josta energy drink TV advertisement in the ’90s featured an old man telling a young man about his past youth. The old man tells the younger man how when he was young, a group of guys tried to convince him to party all night and hook up with women. The old man goes on to tell the boy that he refused their suggestions. He then goes to tell the boy what he wishes he did, and the young man finishes his sentence saying “you wish you had.” The old man agrees with this confirming “every day of my life.”

The Josta energy drink commercial then ends by making the statement to the audience  “coulda, woulda, shoulda”. Finishing with the statement “better do the good stuff now.” 

One would think that because this is an energy drink we are talking about this ad wants to encourage people to keep moving.