Pepsi, with only 15% of the Japanese cola market, has released ”Pepsi Ice Cucumber,” a product that sells the image of the favored, summer, salad gourd though containing no actual cucumber essence. It is artificially flavored to simulate ”the refreshing taste of a fresh cucumber,” according to Aya Takemoto, spokeswoman of Japan’s Pepsi distributor, Suntory Ltd. ”We wanted a flavor that makes people think of keeping cool in the summer heat,” said Takemoto. ”We thought the cucumber was just perfect.”
