Pepsi as a Zionist plot?
With the Israeli conflict hotter than it has been in decades, the Zionist conspiracy theories are bubbling to the top of everything, including the beverage world. Today, “Just-Drinks” posted a story about the popular Iranian belief that Pepsi was formed as primarily a pro-Israel money machine. This lead me to several references to a 2001 newspaper article printed in Iran claiming:
“Pepsi Cola began its work 67 years ago in Canada. It is interesting to note that the name Pepsi comes from an Israeli slogan or motto that was designed to attract financial support for the Zionist regime. Pepsi stands for this: P for Pay, E for Each, P for Penny, S for Save, and I for Israel.”
So much wrong there. First of all, Pepsi is much older than 1934. “Pepsi-Cola” was trademarked in North Carolina in 1903, and was made years before that.
And about the name, Wikipedia says:
There are several theories on the origin of the word “pepsi”.
The only two discussed within the current PepsiCo website are the following: 1) Caleb Bradham bought the name “Pep Kola” from a local competitor and changed it to Pepsi-Cola. 2) “Pepsi-Cola” is an anagram for “Episcopal”. A large church across the street from Bradham’s drugstore. There is a plaque at the site of the original drugstore documenting this while PepsiCo has refuted this theory.
iran, pepsi zionistAnother theory is that Caleb Bradham and his customers simply thought the name sounded good.