World: PepsiCo pursues trademark for Rockstar-branded beer and hard seltzer

PepsiCo Inc. has filed a trademark application that indicates the company plans to sell alcoholic beverages under the “Rockstar” brand name, Bloomberg reported on June 25.

The food and beverage giant is seeking to register the name for beer, alcoholic fruit cocktail drinks, alcoholic malt beverages and hard seltzer, according to a June 14 filing. The application was filed under a provision that says PepsiCo plans to use the trademark for alcoholic beverages but hasn’t yet.

The move comes amid a wave of new alcoholic seltzers, including from Coca Cola Co., which has launched an alcoholic version of its popular Topo Chico mineral water.

In Pepsi’s third quarter earnings call in October, chief executive officer Ramon Laguarta said the company was thinking about its best options for alcoholic drinks and would “make a decision in the coming quarters.”

An email seeking comment from PepsiCo was not immediately returned.

The filing was noted on June 25 on Twitter by trademark specialist and lawyer Josh Gerben.

“The fact that PepsiCo made this filing signals they are very much considering a product launch around beer and hard seltzer,” Gerben said in a message.

E-malt.com, the global information source for the brewing and malting industry professionals. The bi-weekly E-malt.com Newsletters feature latest industry news, statistics in graphs and tables, world barley and malt prices, and other relevant information. Click here to get full access to E-malt.com. If you are a Castle Malting client, you can get free access to E-malt.com website and publications. Contact us for more information at marketing@castlemalting.com .