12 Discontinued Gatorade Flavors That May Never Hit Shelves Again

Gatorade has become one of the most popular sports drinks in the world, known for its bright colors and flavors as much as for its ability to hydrate you and replenish electrolytes. A lot of athletes swear by this line of drinks, which also explains why world-famous sports figures like Michael Jordan and Derek Jeter became spokespeople for Gatorade in the past, and why this drink has become associated with an active lifestyle.

In addition to all these associations, one of the most beloved things about Gatorade is the wide variety of flavors available. Almost everyone who drinks it on a regular basis has a favorite, and a lot of people will only drink their preferred flavor or two and nothing else.

Considering the seemingly endless varieties available today, you may be interested to know that Gatorade actually had a lot more over the years, but discontinued quite a few flavors over time. In fact, as of 2020, Gatorade had discontinued 26 flavors, with quite a few more taken off the shelves since then. Though it doesn't look like they will be coming back any time soon, we thought we'd take a look at what kind of flavors the company has premiered throughout the years. Keep in mind, some of these might still be on sale outside the U.S., so if your favorite Gatorade is out of stock here, keep an eye out when you're abroad.

In August of 2020, a fan on X, known then as Twitter, asked Gatorade about the Flow Kiwi Strawberry flavor, as a search for this specific variety in every local store had yielded no results. Using the official company handle, Gatorade let the customer know that this specific flavor had just been discontinued. 

A lot of customers seemingly loved this drink, and the news of its discontinuation came as a real blow to this flavor's fans. The original drink had an avocado green hue, made with a combination of yellow dye No. 5 and blue dye No. 1 artificial coloring, that honored the kiwi flavor in this particular Gatorade bottle, while the pink label evoked the drink's strawberry component. Some people confuse this variety with Strawberry Kiwi Gatorade, which is, in fact, a different flavor altogether that's part of the company's main series and still available in stores. 

As with a lot of discontinued flavors, people could still occasionally spot Flow Kiwi Strawberry in stores until recently after production stopped, as the existing product line had to be sold off first. However, no new production of the Flow Kiwi Strawberry flavor is taking place in 2023. If you really have a craving for it, you might want to browse websites where people who have a couple of bottles squirreled away are now selling them to ardent fans for whom the flavor was taken away from them too soon.

ESPN the Flavor, also known as Berry Thirst Quencher, was a red, berry-flavored Gatorade drink released in 2004. Since Gatorade has long been associated with athletics, a collaboration with ESPN for the channel's 25th anniversary made a lot of sense. 

This drink wasn't exactly discontinued; it was a limited-edition release, so it was never meant to be produced indefinitely. As far as reactions from customers go, not too many have requested the return of this flavor, most likely reflecting the fact that this Gatorade drink came and went mostly unnoticed. 

However, despite this flavor no longer being sold in stores, Gatorade continues to have a close working partnership with ESPN. Most recently, it sponsored the 2022 ESPY award show, and continues to work closely with the NFL and NBA. One of the best athletic events the company sponsors is the Gatorade Player of the Year Awards, which brings together 12 of the best high school athletes from across the country to honor their achievements.

Introduced in 1993, Iced Tea Cooler is a vintage Gatorade flavor — one that we're reasonably sure no one in Gen Z has had the chance to try. Customers generally loved the Iced Tea Cooler, with its crisp, lemon-like, refreshing taste. It was perfect for replenishing your electrolytes on a hot summer's day as well as imitating the almost universally loved flavor of iced tea, an exceedingly popular drink since 1904. 

This flavor clearly made a big impact while it was out in the world, as customers on X were asking Gatorade about plans to bring it back on the market as late as 2021.

Though it doesn't taste exactly the same, another Gatorade drink that comes close to the Iced Tea Cooler in flavor is the brand's Citrus Cooler. Unfortunately, it's currently undergoing limited distribution, meaning it's unlikely you'll find it in your neighborhood supermarket or convenience store. However, you can order it online, and it is still available in select locations .

Released in 2001, the brightly colored, light-green Starfruit was introduced and discontinued within the span of a year. Even though customers barely managed to get their hands on this drink before it was taken off shelves again, Starfruit still has a lot of loyal fans today who are hoping for the day Gatorade will bring it back, and are still asking the people at Gatorade to do so well into the 2020s.

Though actual starfruit tends to be a "love it or hate it" food, especially depending on how ripe it is, Gatorade Starfruit was a much more palatable version of the fruit's flavors, and thus seemed to have wide appeal when it was on the market. Based on the company's responses to customers inquiring about a comeback, it seems increasingly unlikely that after two decades Gatorade will ever be bringing this vintage flavor back. But for customers who really want it to happen, there's no harm in continuing to ask and try.

Gatorade flavors were not all created equal regarding their distribution and availability in stores. The gray-colored Ice Punch was unfortunately one of the flavors seemingly given short shrift when it came to shelf life.

On social media, Gatorade stated that the product was discontinued in 2020. Strangely, Ice Punch was reintroduced the next year, but only made available in "12oz/6 count with very limited distribution," according to a Gatorade tweet. Though some customers who had access to it and tried it loved it, others absolutely hated the taste, making this one of the more polarizing Gatorade flavors. The lack of widespread availability coupled with Gatorade's frequent discontinuation of its products meant that Ice Punch quickly got pulled from the few shelves it was even on.

Perhaps customers who loved it should try making their own version of Gatorade Ice Punch at home. With a few simple ingredients, including sugar, salt, and some frozen fruit, it actually can be done, so if you have the will, you can experiment with flavors until you find the way.

The green-hued Frost High Tide was introduced to the public in 2001. It was part of a new marketing ploy that Gatorade had undertaken with the Frost series in general. The company wanted to expand its customer base beyond traditional athletes and those playing team sports to anyone active or simply looking for a cool, refreshing drink.

The VP of Gatorade's marketing department, Sue Wellington, said of the Frost series: "This product will have great appeal to our core consumer while also bringing new users to the franchise ... While active consumers currently look to water to quench their active thirst, we foresee them turning to Frost in those same situations in the future."

Though this was a bold move for the company, Frost High Tide didn't get the greatest feedback regarding its taste. Some compared it to a lesser version of the Starfruit drink; similar in taste but not as good. The lack of customer enthusiasm for this particular product is evident in the fact that, unlike other previously well-liked or popular flavors, there has been no online clamor to get High Tide back on store shelves. If you want to sample the Frost series today, opt for Frost Glacier Freeze, introduced in 1997 and still available as of 2023.