When Coca-Cola killed its Tab diet soda in 2020, it caused an uproar among fans of the company's precursor to Diet Coke. It wasn't that Tab was wildly popular — sales had been slipping for years — but the soda's small fanbase remained devoted to the product.
There's literally a website devoted to getting Coca-Cola (KO) -) to reverse the decision, and the creators of the site have made their purpose very clear.
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"On October 16, 2020 the Coca-Cola Company announced they would discontinue Tab–their original diet cola–after 57 years of production," the activist group shares on its website. "That’s where we come in. We’re Tab drinkers with a purpose. We’re the SaveTaBSoda Committee, and we’re working hard to convince Coca-Cola to reverse its decision to eliminate Tab."
A group organized by the website's leaders literally held a protest at Coke's Atlanta headquarters earlier this year.
Not every discontinued soda leads to a movement to bring it back, but even long-forgotten atrocities like 7-Up Gold, Jolt, Surge, and Coca-Cola Blak have their fanbases. Coke itself has killed a number of Diet Coke flavors over the past few years and fans of the discontinued sodas have at least tried to raise a ruckus on social media.
PepsiCo. (PEP) -), however, killed one soft drink brand this year, and most customers did not realize that doing that also meant another seasonal favorite would disappear.
Image source: TheStreet
Pepsi discontinued Sierra Mist
Pepsi has struggled to find an answer for Coca-Cola's Sprite. The lemon-lime soda has dominated the market despite PepsiCo. trying to knock off its rival, first with Slice and then with Sierra Mist.
The company made a lot of noise in January when it discontinued Sierra Mist to replace it with a new lemon-lime soda, Starry.
"The demand for lemon-lime flavored soda has never been greater, with category growth accelerating since 2019, there's a significant opportunity now to give people a choice in an area that's been dominated by one brand for years," the company shared in a press release. "Starry, using the tag line, 'Starry Hits Different," brings a new lemon-lime flavor to the mix for a consumer who is simultaneously optimistic about the future and brings a sense of irreverence to their every day."
Starry's birth meant the end of Sierra Mist, which the company acknowledged. What it never mentioned and consumers were perhaps not thinking off back in January was that the end of the Sierra Mist brand also meant the death of a seasonal favorite.
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PepsiCo. discontinues Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash
Unlike the coffee market, soda makers generally don't have seasonal limited-time-offer (LTO) flavors. Coke and Pepsi have brought out new flavors or brought back drinks from the past as LTOs, but that's more random than say Starbucks having the Pumpkin Spice Latte for fall or Gingerbread drinks in winter.
Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash, however, was a version of the now-discontinued soda line that, until this year, came out annually during the winter holiday season. The beverage, which is shown as out of stock on the Walmart website, was a version of the lemon-lime soda that also infused cranberry flavoring.
The once-popular (to a point) seasonal soda was discontinued along with the core Sierra Mist product and, at least in 2023, no cranberry version of Starry has been offered.
Coca-Cola, however, has an alternative for fans who miss Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash. The soft drink giant also has a seasonal soda flavor that adds cranberry to a lemon-lime base. So, while Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash may be gone for good, people can still buy Coke's Sprite Winter Spiced Cranberry.
"There’s no questioning the lemon-lime taste, but even that had to be a new idea at one point," the company shared on its website. "So, what’s stopping us from adding another flavor to the mix and creating an ultimate caffeine-free soft drink flavor combo? Sprite Winter Spiced Cranberry takes a blend of spices and tangy cranberry flavors, and seamlessly mixes it with the original Sprite, creating something truly spectacular and unique."
