11 Discontinued Sodas That Don't Deserve A Comeback

Soda is a beloved beverage in the United States. According to a 2024 Statista Consumer Insights Global survey, over half of all U.S. adults, from the ages of 18 to 49, consume soft drinks. However, soda consumption is on a slight decline, and for a fair reason — it's not exactly the healthiest beverage out there. Soda actually originated as carbonated medicinal tonics in the 19th century, but pharmacists quickly found that people liked them a lot better with artificial sweetened flavors, like raspberry and banana. 7 Up even started as a hangover cure. Ever since the early days when pharmacists mixed up elixirs behind a counter, the art of soda creation has been less about health and more about experimentation, leading soda companies to craft some truly unique soda flavors, like ranch and celery soda.

Not all soda brands and flavors are as long-lasting as Coke and Pepsi. In fact, we're glad that not every esoteric soda has stood the test of time. There are quite a few duds in soda history that, frankly, don't deserve a comeback to vending machines anytime soon. Looking back through the soda archives of yesteryear, we can get a snapshot of past cultural fads that failed to appeal to the masses — and ultimately learn what was trendy and not timeless. 

These soda flops remind us that even giants of American industry can be humbled by the public's unforgiving taste buds. While we can't sip on these vintage sodas anymore, a plethora of Internet reviews and forum discussions have kept their legacy alive, letting us determine which soda flops should stay gone for good.

In April 1985, Coca-Cola made one of the biggest marketing mistakes in the history of the company: It changed the formula of Coca-Cola. After nearly a century as the premier American soda, Coca-Cola's sales were declining just as the slightly sweeter Pepsi was gaining market traction. The Coke versus Pepsi debate was popular among young Americans, and some were making the switch. With a new CEO, Robert Goizueta, at the helm of the Coca-Cola Company and ready to make bold moves, he sought to redevelop the original flavor to make it more competitive with Pepsi.

Interestingly, the initial taste tests with about 200,000 consumers showed that most people actually liked the new formula, which was sweeter and smoother than the original. But what the Coca-Cola company couldn't foresee was that the small minority of diehard, original Coke enthusiasts would be completely outraged and outspoken on a national level. Thousands of phone calls and letters of protest and even counterdemonstrations showed the company that it had upset its most loyal fans. The vocal backlash essentially undid all the work of its million-dollar ad campaigns for the New Coke.

The new formula didn't even last three months in the U.S., ending that July, and major headlines everywhere announced the return of the classic formula. Afterwards, New Coke was sold in different packaging to Coca-Cola Classic, before eventually being renamed Coke II — but it ultimately dwindled and left the shelves for good in 2002. As the saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. We'll stick to the original recipe.

Beverly was another infamous soda from the Coca-Cola Company that debuted in 1969 for the Italian market. In contrast to typical sodas, Beverly was intended to be a non-alcoholic aperitif, a beverage that folks usually enjoy before dinner to stimulate their appetites and cleanse their palates. Aperitifs in France and Italy, like vermouth and sherry, are often bitter or acidic in taste. Beverly followed suit, with its bitter, citrusy flavor being compared to grapefruit rinds by social media critics.

Beverly was discontinued by the Coca-Cola Company in 2009 — not necessarily due to its bitter taste, but as a part of Coca-Cola's efforts to consolidate its product lineup in the Italian market. However, American audiences can still sample it at a few locations: the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta, the Coca-Cola Store in Las Vegas, and Club Cool and the Coca-Cola Store Rooftop Beverage Bar in Orlando.

Beverly has earned a reputation as the "grossest" flavor at the World of Coca-Cola, garnering criticism on platforms like TikTok and Reddit, which isn't surprising, considering Americans are used to drinking sugary, high-fructose corn syrup sodas. It's a culture and tastebud shock all in one drink. We'll be just fine leaving this one in the soda history books — there are plenty of tasty non-alcoholic aperitifs out there.

There have been a few attempts to mix coffee and Coca-Cola — two incredibly popular drinks designed to give you an energy boost. In fact, outside of the U.S., Coca-Cola produces the world's best-selling canned coffee. However, it took some trial and error for the company to find success in the highly caffeinated drink business stateside. Coca-Cola BlāK, a coffee-flavored Coke beverage that debuted in 2006, was an early attempt to break into the energy drink game. Originally developed in France, Coca-Cola BlāK had some serious flaws by the time the company launched it for a U.S. audience. 

Namely, the taste was a big turnoff for most consumers. The cola flavor in Coca-Cola BlāK was far more pronounced than its coffee taste, and slightly bitter, too. A Consumer Reports taste test (via Chatham Journal) compared the original French version to the American one and found a noticeable difference. The French formula used real sugar; the American one used high fructose corn syrup and aspartame, and it barely tasted like coffee at all.

You might be wondering, "Don't they still make coffee Coca-Cola today?" The answer is yes, but it's not Coca-Cola BlāK. Today, Coca-Cola makes a product called Coke with Coffee, and it's formulated much differently than Coca-Cola BlāK. It contains real coffee and actually tastes like coffee — not just coffee flavoring. 

Have you ever wondered what happened to Pepsi Blue? The bright blue soda was in production for only two years, leaving just as quickly as it came. But what led to the sudden abandonment? 

A blue Pepsi was a novel idea in 2002, but novelty fades quickly in an ever-expanding soda market. It wasn't just the color that was different — Pepsi Blue also did not taste like regular Pepsi. Instead, it was a distinctly artificial-tasting berry flavor with just a hint of cola. While the fruity taste wasn't particularly noteworthy, the dye that gave Pepsi Blue that iconic color, Blue No. 1, was controversial at the time. It stained people's mouths and was even temporarily banned in the European Union because it used an ingredient derived from coal tar. While they don't make Blue No. 1 in this way anymore, and the dye is no longer banned, the damage was already done.

Pepsi did rerelease Pepsi Blue in 2021, giving people the chance to taste this rare soda again for a limited time — but once again, it's gone. Perhaps for good this time?

The folks over at Mountain Dew are no strangers to experimental flavors. Flamin' Hot Mountain Dew is one of these experiments, which was released twice in limited runs in 2021 and 2022. But let's hope this soda stays gone for good this time. 

With the popularity of Flamin' Hot Cheetos, perhaps it made sense to its marketing department to transform the iconic spicy snack into a liquid form and give it the caffeinated sweetness of Mountain Dew. The taste of Flamin' Hot Mountain Dew has been described as spicy, sweet, and citrusy, all packed into one brightly colored plastic bottle. A reviewer from MassLive described drinking this beverage as an exciting sensation at first, but with a horrific aftertaste that is "jolting and unsettling, like noticing an electrical fire that's started in the air vents."

Interestingly, even people who like spicy food don't seem to enjoy Flamin' Hot Mountain Dew. In r/spicy, Redditors commented that the drink didn't give them that typical burning sensation; instead, it almost numbed their mouths. Still, in 2023, Mountain Dew took things even further by releasing a Baja Blast hot sauce, so it seems its quest to combine sugar and spiciness is endless.

Another divisive Mountain Dew flavor makes our list of soft drinks we'd prefer to stay off the shelves. While we commend the company for experimenting, it's clear that not every flavor is a winner. Mountain Dew Fruit Quake was the company's limited-release holiday flavor in 2022, following in the footsteps of the Holiday Brew, Merry Mash-Up, and Ginger Snap'd flavors. Inspired by the classic, yet famously hated, holiday fruitcake, it seems like an odd choice for a beverage flavor. Fruitcake is often dry and lumpy (although it doesn't have to be), making it just as divisive as the Mountain Dew Fruit Quake soda. 

Most accounts describe the taste as a carbonated fruit punch with holiday spices, like ginger and cloves. On paper, this sounds like a classic Christmas flavor palate, but many find the taste unbearably sweet. On Reddit, the r/mountaindew community seemed particularly divided on this flavor. Some commenters feel the haters are overreacting and it's not that bad. Meanwhile, some of the Fruit Quake haters claim the syrupy sweetness tasted exactly like Robitussin. Regardless, we're glad this fruity concoction was a seasonal item and likely won't be brought back. 

The iconic chewing gum brand Hubba Bubba was created in 1979. Just nine years later, a novel bubble gum soda product was unveiled — but not by the Hubba Bubba company. The Hubba Bubba Bubble Gum Soda was actually an unofficial, fan-made soda created by Steve Roeder. It tasted as you might expect, like the super-sweet artificial flavor of bubble gum in liquid form. Funnily enough, Roeder never actually acquired Hubba Bubba's official recipe, so the taste has been speculated to come from bubblegum-flavored snow cone syrup.

Unsurprisingly, Hubba Bubba Bubble Gum Soda was mainly marketed towards kids. In fact, it was often sold at Toys "R" Us. It even came in a diet version — perhaps it was a way to convince parents to buy the super-sugary product for their kids.

As far as novelty drinks go, bubble gum is certainly not the worst flavor we've heard of, although it would be rather odd to drink bubblegum rather than chew it and spit it out. In a 1988 commercial for the product, the drink appears to be a semi-opaque baby-pink color, almost like a carbonated form of Pepto Bismol. From looks alone, we think it's fine if we leave this soda in the past — kids have more than enough choices for super-sweet soda these days. 

Similar to how Dippin' Dots were the "Ice Cream of the Future" back in the '90s, Orbitz was a futuristic-looking, non-carbonated drink featuring tiny spherical orbs floating around inside its glass bottle. Orbitz was made by Clearly Canadian and marketed as a "texturally enhanced alternative beverage." While the drinks look incredibly cool, people who tried Orbitz in the '90s say that the taste did not live up to its appearance. 

Bearing a striking resemblance to a lava lamp, Orbitz apparently almost tasted like a lava lamp — in other words, those orbs tasted waxy and unnatural according to many consumers. Although boba and chia seed drinks are popular today, the little edible balls in Orbitz were far less appetizing than their modern counterparts. Made from gelatin and artificial coloring and flavoring, they didn't taste like much at all and were mostly there for the unique look and texture. Meanwhile, the taste of the actual beverage didn't offer much compensation for the strange textural factor, as the juice flavors reportedly tasted rather medicinal. The flavors ranged from blueberry melon strawberry and pineapple banana cherry coconut to black currant berry and even chocolate.

While Orbitz probably shouldn't come back to stores anytime soon, it's a coveted collectors' item due to the cool appearance. One unopened bottle could even go for around $40 to nearly $100 on eBay.

On the flip side of the 1990s beverage market, OK Soda was an attempt by the Coca-Cola Company to gain the attention of young, Gen X audiences with a fresh take on marketing strategies. Surprisingly, after the marketing fiasco that was New Coke in the 1980s, the very same CEO of Coca-Cola hired the exact same marketing team from New Coke to develop a new product for the company. The name, "OK Soda," came from their market research that showed "Coke" was the second most recognizable word in the world, after "OK".

The resulting brand was meant to subvert the typical advertising tropes of bright colors and big claims. Instead, OK Soda claimed to be ... well, just okay. The cynical, edgy copywriting was accompanied by black, white, and red packaging featuring grim cartoon drawings. The logo itself — a plain box with a simple bold font — bears a striking similarity to Supreme or Obey streetwear clothing brands today.

While OK Soda was tested in certain cities, it was never released on a national scale. Although it makes for a fascinating case study for marketing classes, and the can designs were pretty cool at the time, the soda itself tasted okay, according to internet consumers, who have described it as a mix between orange soda and cola. Let's leave the ironic can designs to the craft breweries and keep OK Soda in the past.

Another creative, yet ultimately unsuccessful marketing campaign: dnL, which is the 7 Up logo rotated 180 degrees. Marketed with the slogan, "Turn your thirst upside down," dnL was created by 7 Up to compete with other sodas like Mountain Dew. dnL was a caffeinated, bright green version of the typically clear and caffeine-free 7 Up. The signature lemon-lime taste was considerably stronger, too, leading to polarizing feedback from consumers. Some soda fans loved the new flavor, while others found the taste to be overpowering.

While we have to give props for the inventive idea of simply rotating the logo, the execution of the brand launch ultimately fell flat. A poor rollout campaign and confusion around the logo led to low market sales, and dnL was discontinued just a few years after its initial 2002 release. As a brand, 7 Up is no stranger to name changes, and it even debuted a new hard soda offshoot called SVNS, which is 7% ABV, in Canada in 2024. We think it's best to avoid further confusion and let this quirky soda revamp remain a relic of beverage history where it belongs.

Modern audiences are more than familiar with the ubiquity of energy drinks today, but Jolt Cola was one of the first soft drinks to venture into high caffeine territory. Initially introduced in 1985, Jolt Cola had 72 milligrams of caffeine per drink, which was considerably more than most sodas in the '80s and led to many parents banning it for their children. Its tagline, "All the sugar and twice the caffeine!" doesn't seem like it would be appealing to health-conscious consumers now, but in the '80s and '90s, Jolt Cola had a cult-like following with students, gamers, and coders. It was even featured in the 1995 movie "Hackers," solidifying its legacy as all-night, jitters-inducing hacker fuel.

Following bankruptcy in 2009, Jolt Cola was briefly revived in 2017 to seemingly little fanfare. We think there are more than enough energy drinks on the market now, but surprisingly, the owners of Jolt Cola announced plans to bring an updated version back to the shelves in 2025. If you thought 72 milligrams of caffeine was a lot, the new Jolt Cola would have 200 milligrams in a 16-ounce can. 

The target audience for the new Jolt Cola is adults who grew up around the time of its initial release — more specifically, perhaps the company wants to appeal to adults who weren't allowed to drink it as children. When all else fails, nostalgia can be quite an effective marketing tool.