Here's Why Sierra Mist Was Discontinued

If you're a fan of lemon-lime soda (whether as a drink or as a marinade for meat) you're likely well aware of the fact that Sierra Mist has vanished from stores and restaurants in recent years. Unfortunately, the reason for the PepsiCo product's disappearance came as a result of the drink being discontinued in January 2023, never to be seen again.

As for the reasons behind the drink's discontinuation, the topic continues to be debated. While some have contested that legal disputes between TikToker Cierra Mistt and PepsiCo over the name were what led to Sierra Mist's demise, it's far more likely that it was due to low sales of the drink by the end of its run. Sierra Mist was first released in 1999 and became quite popular throughout the 2000s, even outranking 7 Up as the second-most popular lemon-lime soda behind Sprite for a short period of time. 

However, the drink struggled to maintain its popularity in the 2010s and 2020s, having a market share of merely 0.1% within the soda world. Thus, executives at PepsiCo believed that both the marketing and the drink's formula itself needed an update. Sierra Mist's discontinuation coincided with the introduction of its replacement, Starry, which remains PepsiCo's only lemon-lime soda offering to this day.

Despite many consumers believing that Starry is simply a rebrand for Sierra Mist with no real difference in the contents of the bottle, this isn't actually the case. Now, for total clarity, the Sierra Mist formula (most notably the sweetener it included) was modified several times over its 24-year run on the market. This includes the product's time as Sierra Mist Natural (a name meant to signify its use of natural sweeteners) starting in 2010 and ending in 2013. Then, when they began once again using high-fructose corn syrup in 2015, the name Mist Twist was given to the product until 2018, when it went back to its original name yet again.

The creation of Starry is frankly quite similar to other revamps of Sierra Mist, as it once again signifies a change in the sweetener PepsiCo uses in its flagship lemon-lime soda. The later versions of Sierra Mist featured cane sugar, but Starry saw a return to high-fructose corn syrup (which isn't inherently worse cane sugar) and an increased amount of citric acid in its formula.  In practice, this gives Starry a less pronounced sweetness which is balanced with more of a sour profile compared to late versions of Sierra Mist. You'll just have to go try one yourself to see the difference.