Pepsi Special Swiss Edition: There's Water in the Gas

There's a debate on social media. Did Pepsi break the law by marketing special limited-edition cans for the women's Euro 2025? That's what one internet user suggests. The can's design features a Swiss flag. However, he noted on the back, the product is "made in Belgium."

The Swiss cross has been protected by law since 2017. To be able to display it on a product, it must contain at least 80% Swiss raw materials and the main processing step must be carried out in Switzerland. Pepsi does indeed have a production plant in Switzerland, in the Grisons region. But Feldschlösschen, which holds the Pepsi license in our country, confirms that it only produces drinks in PET bottles. Therefore, the controversial cans do indeed come from Belgium.

According to an expert interviewed by the news website nau.ch, "the decisive factor is whether the buyer expects to hold a Swiss Pepsi in their hand, given the product's design." If the design suggests a Swiss origin, things are looking bad for Pepsi. If it only suggests a connection to the event for which it is a special edition, namely Euro 2025, it might pass. To be sure, a court would have to look into the matter, but this would only be on the basis of a complaint from a competitor, who would rule that there was unfair competition, which is unlikely, according to the expert.

For its part, Pepsi, via Feldschlösschen, defends itself: "The Swiss cross on the cans clearly does not refer to the origin of the drink, but to the football event taking place in Switzerland." Moreover, the Belgian origin of the product on the back of the packaging is not hidden at all.