Usually, products get discontinued because they fall out of favor with the public.
That doesn't mean people have stopped liking them. It's generally a situation where sales slowly dwindle until it doesn't make sense for the manufacturer to keep making it.
Sometimes this happens with items that retain a cult following. Coca-Cola KO, for example, discontinued its original diet soda, Tab, in 2020. That happened because Diet Coke and various other diet sodas had greatly excited their predecessor in sales.
Related: Coca-Cola quietly stops selling an iconic soda flavor
That did not mean that Tab did not have its fans. The brand retains a devoted fanbase which has protested at Coca-Cola's Atlanta headquarters trying to get the company to bring the brand back.
In other cases, companies have killed brands when the effort to sell them is not worth the volume being sold. Coca-Cola dropped its Odwalla juice brand (which is has since sold to a new owner) because it had to be shipped in refrigerated trucks.
In that case, the juice literally was not worth the squeeze and the company decided to shut down the brand. Now, another soft drink maker, the Wegmans grocery chain, has decided to shut down its own popular soda brand that competed with Coca-Cola and Pepsi, giving the retail chain a product rivals Walmart and Kroger did not have on their store shelves.
Image source: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images
Wegmans kills its "WPOP" soda brand
While Kroger and Walmart have massive national footprints, Wegmans has been more selective in its store locations. The relatively small chain has about 110 stores operating mostly, but not exclusively in the northeast.
The privately-held chain has a commitment to offering customers what it calls "Food You Feel Good About," a concept it describes on its website.
"We launched Food You Feel Good About in 1991 with a commitment of great taste with no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. Since 2014, we have improved over 2,000 Wegmans items to meet our Food You Feel Good About standards, and today, nearly 90% of all Wegmans brand items are Food You Feel Good About with new items coming every day," the chain shared.
That commitment includes offering food that does not have artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives that are also free of trans fats from partially hydrogenated oils. The pledge also includes not selling foods that contain high fructose corn syrup and artificial sweeteners.
Wegmans apparently takes the "Food You Feel Good About" pledge seriously as it used it to justify killing its popular house soda brand, which has affectionately been dubbed "WPOP."
The chain posted signs in its stores in late August sharing that it planned to stop offering its soda brand because it did not meet the company's standards.
As mentioned on the sign, we are discontinuing our Wegmans Brand Soda. Our Food You Feel Good About banner stands for no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. We are discontinuing Wegmans Brand Soda because it contains artificial ingredients like aspartame and high fructose corn syrup. We are committed to our mission of helping customers live healthier, better lives through exceptional food, and we want you to feel confident in our Wegmans Brand products.
Both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo use aspartame and high fructose corn syrup in some products. Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, for example, is sweetened with a blend of aspartame and acesulfame potassium while the company uses high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, or cane sugar for its Classic Coca-Cola depending upon the market.
PepsiCo PEP also has products that contain both sweeteners that Wegmans has flagged. Wegman continues to sell Coke and Pepsi products.
