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Pepsi’s Return to the Globe: Using Heritage as a Brand Asset
Pepsi’s 2023 rebrand brought the wordmark back inside the globe and added black from Zero Sugar. What it shows about using your past to move forward.
When Pepsi changed its logo in 2023, many people noticed how familiar it felt. That was the point. The company reached into its own past for a look it could make modern, and the choices behind it are worth studying.
In this article
What happened
PepsiCo unveiled the new logo in March 2023. The company’s press release described it as the first update of the Pepsi globe in 14 years, though some outlets reported 15. The wordmark moved back into the middle of the globe, and the globe was flattened into a form like the versions used in the late 1980s and 1990s. According to Dezeen, the in-house design team chose black lettering, where earlier versions had used white and blue.
The black was borrowed from Pepsi Zero Sugar, known as Pepsi Max in the UK. PepsiCo’s chief marketing officer said it was an intentional colour added with Zero Sugar, which would lead in marketing. The identity also included an animated pattern called the “pulse”. The rollout began in North America in the autumn of 2023, in time for the brand’s 125th anniversary, and went global in 2024. Early reaction was largely positive.
Why it worked
- It used heritage. People who remembered the older logos felt recognition and warmth.
- It was bolder. Putting the name back in the globe gave the mark more presence and made it easier to read.
- It linked the range. Black connected the main brand with the fast-growing zero-sugar product.
- It looked like a system. Colours, type and motion worked together.
- It was done in-house. The team knew the brand’s history and strengths well.
What other brands can learn
- Look back before you look forward. Your own archive may hold the strongest ideas. A past logo, label or pattern can be revived and refined.
- Make heritage modern. Do not copy the past. Update proportions, colour and use for the way people meet your brand today.
- Tie the brand to the future. The black signalled where the business was going.
- Think in systems. A logo is one piece. See our guide to what to include in brand guidelines.
- Tell the story. A date, a founder or a place gives people a reason to care. Our brand story examples show how.
For smaller brands
You may not have a 125-year archive, but you’ve a history: the first product, the first shop, the founder’s handwriting. Look through it with fresh eyes. Our guides to the rebrand process and rebranding examples and lessons show how others have moved forward without losing what made them.
Want help finding the strengths in your own brand? Book a free brand consultation.
Sources
- Pepsi unveils a new logo and visual identity, PepsiCo
- Pepsi rebrand, Dezeen
Cover photo by Zoshua Colah on Unsplash.
