Sodas are a cultural staple of the summer. While there are many varieties and flavors
on the market, sadly, some of them don't last and are discontinued. While we mourn for the
loss of these sodas, let's relive the best ones as we look at 10 Discontinued Sodas We
Miss.
Patio
This discontinued soda was one of Pepsi's first forays outside of the standard cola,
making its appearance in the early 60s. Its name was reminiscent of sinking into a chair
on the shade on a warm summer's day; it was the perfect drink to take with you into the
summer season. Specifically a diet soda, Patio was marketed as an alternative soda for diabetics.
A year after its conception, Patio released three new flavors: orange, grape, and root
beer. Advertising for it was relatively scarce and stuck primarily to local regions, making
its way into some grocery stores and "mom and pop" shops. An interesting aspect of Patio's
legacy is how it contributed to the "diet" culture. It was part of Pepsi's "diet" brand,
yet never explicitly used the word diet in its slogans. One of the company's earliest
slogans implied that "The girls girl-watchers watch, drink Diet Pepsi", painting a picture
to, particularly female consumers that, not only would this drink keep them more slim
and desirable, but that this particular fizzy soda was accessible to all health-conscious
consumers. Despite its relative success and impact on the new diet soda world, Patio's
name was switched to Diet Pepsi and advertised alongside the main brand. Most of Patio's
flavors were phased out by the early to mid-1970s and the drink has not been seen since.
Pepsi Blue
Another Pepsi item on our list of discontinued sodas. This bright blue soda was launched
by Pepsi in mid-2002. Over a nine-month period, over one hundred flavors were tested until
they settled on the final "berry" flavor. According to drinkers, it was blueberry or
raspberry, with a similar taste to cotton candy. The drink's signature blue color was
brought to the table after Mountain Dew released its Code Red drink in 2001. The blue color
for Pepsi Blue came from the coloring agent Blue 1, which was controversial and was actually
banned in many countries at the time. The drink was heavily promoted by Pepsi, including
an advertisement by Britney Spears, as well as advertising through movies such as The
Italian Job and Garfield: The Movie. The drink also inspired Jolt Cola to create a similar
cotton candy style and flavor beverage called Jolt Blue CX2. Despite the high volume and
celebrity endorsement, Pepsi Blue was seen as a commercial flop. It was eventually discontinued
in North America. However, it remained in the Philippines and was re-released in the
UK recently.
OK Soda
As the 1990s counterculture made traction, Coca-Cola saw an opportunity to capitalize.
Ok Soda was the result. This was part of the hipster movement of its time. The artwork
on the can was courtesy of underground comics artists Daniel Clowes and Charles Burns. The
advertising mainly consists of a stereotypical radio announcer telling, in a somewhat bored
and condescending tone, random stories and ending said stories with the promise that
"everything is going to be ok". The quotes inserted on the rim of the can are in the
same vein: "Please wake up every morning knowing that things are going to be OK" and "What's
the point of OK? Well, what's the point of anything?" Seeing any parallels with Millennial
nihilism yet? This soda might have been before its time. This product also had "prize cans"
that were inserted into select vending machines. These prizes included some form of Ok merchandise
and two extra quarters to buy another can. The prize can had a slightly different design:
more cylindrical in shape, significantly lighter due to the lack of liquid content and had
a light blue banner. Unfortunately, when sales fell shorter than expected, Coca-Cola put
this product to bed. Apparently, cans with Clowes and Burns' artwork can be found on
eBay as collector's items. The asking price for this product starts off at about a few
hundred US dollars!
Vault
Another soda that was following the energy drink route was released to a limited test-market.
It saw its release on a national scale in February 2006. A citrus-flavored beverage,
it contained many of the same ingredients as Surge and had a similar "extreme sports"
ad campaign. It featured men performing formidable feats while drinking Vault; such as a man
building a robotic scarecrow with laser eyes that rids his farm of unwanted guests. Another
commercial had a man using an explosive and a chainsaw to convert his and a neighbor's
backyards into football fields. The slogan "Vault. Get to it!" followed the same "edgy"
and "hardcore" message that Surge used. A sister product, Vault Red Blitz was released
in early 2007 as competition to Pepsi's Code Red. An attempt at another product, Vault
Zero, resulted in a reformulation after a lawsuit suggested that certain ingredients
in the drink, when combined, would create the carcinogen, benzene. The product was discontinued
in 2011 so that the company could focus on the new and improved Mello Yello, a similar
highly caffeinated drink. Coca Cola was responsible for this release as well and was marketed
as yet another energy drink.
Orbitz
This fruit drink, as opposed to the other drinks on this list, is not carbonated. It
was created by the Clearly Food & Beverage Company of Canada. Made with small edible
balls and having a similar design to a lava lamp, Orbitz was marketed as a texturally
enhanced alternative beverage. In a similar fashion to bubble tea, the small balls floating
in the beverage were made of gellan gum, allowing them to float in the liquid due to similar
compounds to those found in spider webs. In an attempt to make the drink more pleasing,
they attempted a space-themed campaign with the headline "Prepare to embark on a tour
into the bowels of the Orbiterium". The word "bowels" may not have been the best choice.
The fact that it was a flat beverage and not a carbonated one also made labeling the drink
difficult. A year after its creation and release, due to poor reception, the drink was pulled
from markets. Within the last six years, the drink came back into the public domain. Clearly
Canadian stated that they were considering, for nostalgia's sake, producing a limited
line of products with the possibility of annual releases, if the response was positive. Collectors
of the drink have paid upwards of $30 and $100 for single, unopened bottles and whole
cases, respectively.
Surge
This is another one of Coca Cola's citrus-flavored drinks that came into being in the 1990s as
direct competition to Mountain Dew. It was originally launched as Urge in Norway and,
due to intense popularity, was released in the United States, with an extra letter, to
boot! The drink became associated with an extreme sports lifestyle, similar to Mountain
Dew. In order to pull in consumers away from Pepsi's products, catchphrases associated
with a more hardcore and edgy lifestyle were used. Examples of this were "Feed the Rush",
"Life's a Scream" and, as a description of the drink itself "A Fully Loaded Citrus Soda".
The drink had a successful run until 2003 when, due to a drop in sales, the drink was
pulled from most markets. A little over a decade later, due to clamoring by the consumers,
Coca-Cola re-released the drink via Amazon Prime. It was then re-released in convenience
stores in the Eastern United States and some Mountain states. The drink enjoyed an international
re-release in a slushy form in Burger King restaurants. Fans of the drink can follow
the journey of Surge's comeback by following @SURGE and @BurgerKing on Twitter.
Coca-Cola Blak
Coca Cola Blak was the soda company's foray into the coffee industry. It was first introduced
in France. Subsequently, the drink was released in other Eastern European countries, such
as the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Lithuania. A simultaneous launch happened in the United
States. The French and Canadian versions were sweetened with sugar, while the US version
was sweetened with high fructose corn syrup, aspartame, and acesulfame potassium. According
to testers of the French version, there was more of a coffee taste and less of a sugar
taste. Unfortunately, the following year, it was announced that the drink would be discontinued
within the US. However, pulling inspiration from the drink, the largest Coke dispenser
in Latin America released coffee dispensers in Mexico under the same name. Recently, Coca-Cola
announced that it would be releasing a line of coffee-related products across 25 different
markets. The new drink, which contains less sugar than a Coke, is arriving amidst a movement
of change in consumer behavior when it comes to the consumption of sugary drinks.
Jolt
This cola drink was originally created by the Jolt Company Inc. in the 1980s. This drink
's selling point was its high caffeine content and was used as a way to promote being awake.
Its target audience was students and young adults, emphasizing its similarity to energy
drinks. Its slogan "All the sugar and twice the caffeine" corroborated this, as well as
its distinct battery shaped bottles. Two years later, a low-calorie version was brought to
the table called Jolt 25. The latter had many flavors such as Cherry Bomb, Citrus Climax,
Orange Blast, and Red Eye. A line of caffeinated gum and mints was released under the company,
Gumrunners. The slogan "Chew More, Do More" also followed the theme of energy and stimulation.
A few years later and the Jolt Company filed for bankruptcy, following a dispute with its
supplier about the pricing. In 2017, it was confirmed that Jolt Cola would return to Dollar
General stores. However, it's not the same as the original and we miss that 'in your
face' approach to soda drinks.
7 Up Gold
This soda was a matchmaking venture between 7 Up and Dr Pepper. The recipe was initially
Dr Pepper's but, after the two companies merged, 7 Up took on the challenge of creating it.
With hints of ginger, apple, and cinnamon, as well as its darker hue, 7 Up Gold was released
to the masses in the late 80s. It faced major hurdles in the marketing department from the
get-go. At the time, 7 Up was pushing the slogan "Never Had It, Never Will", referring
to caffeine in its drinks. Take a wild guess what was in 7 Up Gold? But this was only the
tip of the iceberg as far as hurdles this creation faced. According to the 7-Up Bottling
Company president Roger Easley, “The product was misunderstood by the consumer.” He then
explained how consumers of 7-Up were thrown off by the darker color of the soda, as well
as the aforementioned caffeine. This incident opens up a discussion about the level of difficulty
when it comes to creating a new product in the soda industry. Coca Cola, spent around
$40 million a year to advertise DietCoke. This product was a success, but most others
are not so lucky.
Crystal Pepsi
This 1990s soda was known for its transparent colorless look. This was related to a marketing
fad of the time called the "Clear Craze", which likened clarity with purity. Wanting
to jump on the coattails of this fad, Crystal Pepsi was marketed as a caffeine-free "clear"
alternative to their other sodas. Crystal Pepsi was first sold in Europe before being
tested in the US. Crystal Pepsi saw its demise at the hands of Coca-Cola's Tab Clear soda.
What was interesting about the latter product is that it was a "kamikaze" product, an unpopular
and misleading product with the sole goal of taking itself and Crystal Pepsi off the
market. Coca-Cola's chief marketing officer, Sergio Zyman, stated that they marketed Tab
as a "sugar-free" diet drink, as well as medicinal. The result was Pepsi pulling their clear drink
off the market in late 1993, with select retailers receiving the last few batches in early 1994.
Crystal Pepsi has since seen a call for a revival recently following an online campaign.
Competitive eating personality, Kevin Strahle, made a viral video drinking a vintage bottle
of Crystal Pepsi. This lead to a Change.org petition with 27, 000 signatures, tens of
thousands of tagged comments across various social media platforms and 15 billboards set
up across the Los Angeles area. Crystal Pepsi was officially re-released in the US in August
2018 and for a limited time in Canada. There are some drinks that always remain on a consumer's
mind and if they are lucky they sometimes see them back on the shelves again for a limited
time.
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