Christian Cavaletti (Italy) has a whopping collection of Pepsi cans.
The assortment is so large, in fact, that it has broken the record for the largest collection of Pepsi cans.
It includes 12,402 cans from all over the world and many limited editions of the soda.
Originally from Milan, Christian has a master’s degree in Synthetic Organic Chemistry, works as a Site Manager in a local textile company and has a huge hobby: collecting Pepsi cans from all over the world.
Christian broke the record for the first time in March 2004 with 4,391 Pepsi cans.
However, his collection (a true museum now, as Christian keeps adding new items) was recently recounted in March 2022, almost twenty years after the first record.
On that occasion, Christian smashed his previous record.
Born in 1970, Christian initially started collecting Pepsi cans on the 1st of June 1989.
He shares this passion with his brother Edoardo, who started getting interested in Pepsi cans after being awed by the movie Back to the Future (United States, 1985).
In the movie, Marty McFly (played by actor Michael J. Fox) orders a Pepsi and receives a futuristic "Pepsi Perfect" bottle. Edoardo started collecting items linked to the famous sci-fi movie, and the "Pepsi Perfect" was among them.
Only two years later, Christian and Edoardo became known in the collectors scene as the "Pepsi Twins", even though Edoardo Cavaletti is eight years older than Christian.
Now, Christian’s basement is filled with shelves that he made to store all his Pepsi cans, all divided by country and in chronological order.
He is part of two huge can collectors clubs: the NPCC (National Pop Can Collectors) and the PCCC (Pepsi-Cola Collectors Club), and is also friends with Gary Feng (Canada), the holder of the Guinness World Records title for the largest collection of Coca-Cola cans (11,308 items).
Today, Christian’s collection assembles cans from 81 different countries.
New, rare and coveted items are often acquired thanks to his many trading partners all over the world, from the USA to Thailand to Australia.
Among the special items in his collection, one can find the very first edition of Pepsi can ever made.
It dates back to 1948, and its shape is very different from the classic Pepsi can we know nowadays.
The Pepsi can as we know it arrived in the 60s, and Christian owns one of the very first prototypes: a light blue can with a light swirl and the classic Pepsi Cola logo.
Christian also owns a special edition Pepsi can with a silver background and a picture of him holding his Guinness World Records certificate printed on the can.
The unique can was issued to celebrate the 5,000th item in Christian’s collection, created in May 2005.
Another interesting item in Christian's collection was produced in the 1985, the so-called "space can".
This futuristic-looking can was produced in the United States and it's a reproduction of the can that was sent on the STS 51-F mission in 1985.
The can, modified for spaceflight and equipped with a nozzle, was part of a program that involved both Pepsi and Coke: both products were added to the pantry of the mission.
This gave crew members a wider range of beverages, but also allowed them to do taste tests and to evaluate the usability of the special cans.
Although Christian's can is a made-for-earth reproduction, NASA provided the National Air and Space Museum Collection with one of the original cans from the mission.
Christian also owns the oldest set of Pepsi cans made in Europe, more specifically in Spain.
The collection features superheroes from the Marvel Universe and "Aviones de Combate", Spanish for fighting jets, and it’s among the most valuable sets made in the 80s. Its estimated value is $40,000.
But Christian doesn’t want his collection to remain private, or just a static display of cans.
Instead, he would like to transform his collection into the biggest exhibit of Pepsi cans in the world.
He aims to turn his collection into an in-depth exhibit of “all things Pepsi cans”.
“More than 15,000 different cans will be displayed, but day by day, the number will increase, making each visit a unique experience, even after several times,” Christian writes on his website.
In the meantime, he continues to grow his collection and enjoy Pepsi's fizzy drinks.
His favourite flavour? The Wild Cherry edition from the US!
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