10 Classic Drinks That Slowly Disappeared Over The Years

Surge: The Extreme Soda That Couldn’t Keep Up

Surge was The Coca-Cola Company’s response to Pepsi’s Mountain Dew, launching with all the swagger of a neon green energy drink in 1997. According to internal consumer research, ninety-seven percent of teens were aware of Surge in the initial launch markets and ninety-five percent had tried it at least once. The drink was literally nicknamed “MDK” internally at Coca-Cola, which stood for “Mountain Dew Killer.”

Due to declining sales and just an overall diminishing sense of enthusiasm for the brand, Surge was discontinued in 2003. While false rumors of high caffeine and sugar levels widely spread, entire schools began to literally ban the soda from vending machines and many parents stopped buying Surge for their children altogether. An online petition was started to keep Surge on the market; it gained more than thirty thousand signatures.

Crystal Pepsi: The Clear Cola That Confused Everyone

Picture trying to drink something that looks like water but tastes like cola. That’s exactly what Crystal Pepsi was launched in 1992 with a huge marketing campaign and to great success, capturing a 1% soft drink market share worth US$474 million in its first year. The drink was part of the “clear craze” sweeping through the early nineties, where transparency somehow equaled purity in consumer minds.

Crystal Pepsi is essentially the same formula as regular Pepsi, except the caramel coloring was replaced with modified cornstarch. By late 1993, Crystal Pepsi was discontinued, and the final batches were delivered to retailers during the first few months of 1994. Coca-Cola launched Tab Clear as a deliberate “kamikaze” copy to sabotage Crystal Pepsi, effectively ending the clear cola wars before they really began.

Tab: The Original Diet Soda Pioneer

Arguably the most famous recently discontinued product occurred in 2020 when manufacturer Coca-Cola ended its Tab soda. Tab was introduced in 1963, evolving through quite a few design changes over the years. This pink-canned wonder was Coca-Cola’s first serious attempt at capturing the diet drink market, long before Diet Coke even existed.

Though it took some time to catch on, by the 1970s, TaB was the most popular diet drink in the U.S. But when saccharine was implicated in the National Toxicology Program’s 1981 Report on Carcinogens, and Coca-Cola introduced the aspartame-sweetened Diet Coke the following year, TaB began a long and steady decline that saw it reduced to 1% market share by 2001. The drink maintained a cult following until its final demise.

Mr. Pibb: The Doctor’s Forgotten Rival

Though some might have argued Mr. Pibb tasted better than the competition, the soda was discontinued in 2001. While the company later introduced Pibb Xtra (which remains available as of 2024), the new soda used an entirely different recipe in addition to its new moniker – meaning it’s merely related to the original rather than a revival of the classic Mr. Pibb. This spicy cherry cola was Coca-Cola’s answer to Dr Pepper, but it never quite managed to establish the same loyal fanbase.

The original Mr. Pibb had a distinctive taste that set it apart from both its inspiration and its eventual replacement. Many fans still hunt for vintage cans on reseller websites, though drinking decades-old soda probably isn’t the wisest idea. The brand’s failure to compete effectively shows how difficult it can be to challenge an established favorite in the soda world.

Zima: The Clear Malt Beverage That Defined Cool

Along with sugary drinks, malted beverages were also popular during the ’90s. Created and distributed by Coors in 1993, Zima was cool, citrus-flavored, and contained less than 5% alcohol by volume. It was a part of the “clear craze” from the early part of the decade, which was a popular advertisement fad that marketed “clear” as akin to “pure”. Zima became the drink of choice for people who wanted to seem sophisticated but still approachable.

The beverage had a unique position in the market, sitting somewhere between beer and soda, appealing to drinkers who found beer too bitter but wanted something more adult than soft drinks. Despite its initial popularity and cultural impact, Zima struggled to maintain its market position over time. The clear malt beverage eventually faded from most markets, though it has made occasional comebacks in certain regions.

Odwalla: The Premium Juice That Couldn’t Recover

The Coca-Cola-owned beverage first lined store shelves in 1980. Although it was initially an independent company, Odwalla was purchased by Coca-Cola in 2001 for $181 million. Since Pepsi owned Gatorade and a majority stake in SoBe, Odwalla would have helped Coca-Cola compete with its line of fruit juices, tea drinks, and sports drinks. This California-based juice company represented the premium end of the fresh juice market.

But after experiencing many years of success, consumer tastes began to shift, and Odwalla’s ingredients came into question – namely, its high sugar content. As of July 31, 2020, all distribution of Odwalla ceased, and it has yet to return since its discontinuation. The brand’s demise shows how quickly consumer preferences can shift, especially when health consciousness becomes a priority over taste and convenience.

Life Savers Soda: When Candy Becomes Liquid

Before release, Life Savers soda received a positive response during initial taste tests before its release. But the wider public seemingly felt differently after it reached store shelves, leading to poor sales. While there are worse things than drinking liquid life savers, the sugary marketing strategy appears to have contributed to its eventual discontinuation. The concept seemed brilliant on paper – turn America’s favorite hard candy into a refreshing beverage.

In 1981, Life Savers Soda attempted to turn the iconic candy into a drinkable experience, offering a liquid version of its fruity flavors. Ironically, it failed because consumers found it too similar to candy. Does drinking candy sound like a good idea? By 1982, it disappeared after just one year. Sometimes the obvious connection between products doesn’t translate into market success.

Squeezits: The Kid’s Lunchbox Hero

From the zany commercials to its distinctive bottle design, Squeezits were everything a kid could ever want from a popular drink. One of many classic treats gifted to us by General Mills, it was launched in 1985 – and by the mid-1990s? These squeezable plastic bottles filled with artificially colored fruit drinks were a staple of childhood lunches. The bottles themselves became toys, with kids squeezing them long after the contents were gone.

Squeezits represented the perfect marriage of convenience and fun that defined nineties kid culture. The drink came in wild colors that had little to do with actual fruit, but nobody cared because they were delicious and the bottle was half the entertainment. The brand disappeared as parental concerns about artificial ingredients grew and healthier lunch options became more popular.

Josta: The Original Energy Drink Pioneer

Maybe you’ve only heard of Josta in the whispers of nostalgia from ’90s soda lovers, but this is no mythology, folks! Josta had its era of solving our thirst problems. This guarana-based energy soda was ahead of its time! It was a pioneer in the energy drink space. If you don’t know guaraná, it’s a tropical berry known for its caffeine content and slight bitterness. At the time, energy drinks weren’t a thing yet, so Josta felt like the edgy kid in the soda aisle. The drink appeared in 1995, years before Red Bull made energy drinks mainstream.

Josta’s failure wasn’t about taste or marketing – it was about timing. The energy drink market simply wasn’t ready for this Brazilian-berry-powered beverage. When it disappeared from shelves, few people realized they were witnessing the end of an era for what could have been America’s first major energy drink brand.

Original New York Seltzer: The Sparkling Water That Sparkled Too Bright

After the novelty wore off (and perhaps as consumers realized that Original New York Seltzer still contained a not-insignificant 25 grams of sugar per 10-ounce bottle), the company entered a decline, and the Millers quietly discontinued production in the early ’90s. This clear, flavored seltzer was riding high on the health wave of the eighties, marketed as a sophisticated alternative to regular soda.

The drink had everything going for it – trendy clear bottles, natural flavors, and that New York mystique that made everything seem cooler. But the brand was revived under different ownership in 2015, and the drinks are once again available in limited distribution. Sometimes a drink gets a second chance, though it’s never quite the same as the original cultural moment it captured.

The story of these disappeared drinks isn’t just about changing tastes or failed marketing campaigns. It’s about how quickly something can go from being the hottest thing on the market to a nostalgic memory. Each of these beverages captured a specific moment in American culture, whether it was the extreme sports craze of the nineties or the health consciousness of the new millennium. Today, many of these drinks exist only in the memories of those who lived through their brief moments in the spotlight, reminding us that even the most popular products can vanish faster than you can finish drinking them.