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There’s something about the heat and humidity that just makes you sleepy sometimes. With summer just around the corner in Japan, beverage company Suntory has a plan to keep you on your toes all day long: Pepsi Strong. More bubbles and more caffeine.

Say goodbye to your afternoons of droopy eyes and nodding off at your desk!

Suntory, the Japanese distributor of Pepsi products, has come out with some wild Pepsi flavors in the past. Remember the strawberry milk or the salty watermelon flavors? Those were really something!

In a slightly less adventurous attempt in 2010, they released the predecessor to Pepsi Strong, Pepsi Strong Shot, a 190 milliliter (compared to the usual 350 milliliter) can of extra carbonated Pepsi-Cola. Apparently, it did pretty well and people have wanted more, both in terms of stock at stores and just pure volume in every container.

Now, we come to Suntory’s 2015 release, Pepsi Strong and Pepsi Strong Zero. The pair of sodas were announced on May 14, but will not be released in stores until June 16. The goal was to make a beverage (and a calorie-free form of a beverage) that would pretty much kick your butt into gear. It has stronger carbonation and a stronger dose of caffeine in every bottle, and comes in a full-sized bottle, unlike its predecessor. Suntory wants you to be able to drink it in the office to get you through your day and de-stress a bit. (We’re curious if shocking the system with caffeine is a good way to de-stress…)

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As for the packaging, the design team wanted to keep the same theme of general Pepsi and Pepsi Zero, as the new additions are really just intensified colas, so they kept the blue and black themes, respectively. However, we’re dealing with some really intense colas here, so they did their best to represent the colas as bold, stimulating and, well, strong.

If you find yourself around Japan (or even Japanese grocery stores abroad will carry special Pepsi drinks sometimes) and you need a pick-me-the-heck-up, you might as well try Pepsi Strong or Strong Zero, instead of the normal energy drink. We can’t vouch for the actual caffeine or carbonated level until we drink it ourselves in June, but if you get the chance to guzzle down some Strong, let us know how well it stimulates you back on track or de-stresses you.

Source: Nari Nari, The Impulsive Buy
Images: Nari Nari