Soda isn’t good for us, this is a sad diet truth that just about everyone knows by now. And while sales growth for regular sodas has been slowing dramatically in recent years, sales of ‘zero sugar‘ soft drinks—the new go-to term, since the word ‘diet’ is now out of favor—has been growing, reports ABC12. That said, a number of diet sodas have been discontinued throughout the years and are not coming back, the popularity of the sugar- and calorie-free beverages notwithstanding. Some were iconic favorites that couldn’t stand the test of time and others were unsurprising flops: We’re looking at you Diet Jolt Cola. However, they were phased out, here are 9 discontinued diet sodas that you’ll never see again. Plus, don’t miss 6 People Who Should Never Drink Diet Soda, Say Doctors.
Perhaps the biggest loss in the eyes of many a diet soda aficionado, Coca-Cola’s TaB diet soda refreshed its last in the year 2020, according to Beverage Daily. While a mainstay soft drink for many people for many years, having been introduced way back in the year 1963, TaB just wasn’t selling well enough anymore for Coke to keep on making the stuff.
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Diet Pepsi A.M. was the diet version of Pepsi A.M. marketed in the late 80s by Pepsi. There was no essential difference in the flavor of the sodas from regular Pepsi, but the products had 25% more caffeine. Looking at all of the energy drinks available today, this drink may have just been before its time.
Ah, what grand hopes there were from Crystal Clear Coke and Crystal Pepsi. And, of course, for Diet Crystal Pepsi, which came out in 1992. These Crystal sodas were the quintessential 90s drinks, but unlike neon-colored crop tops and statement earrings, Crystal Diet Pepsi is not making a comeback. Ever.
Tab Clear was created by Coca-Cola as an answer to Crystal Pepsi. In fact, according to this Mental Floss aritcle, Tab Clear was designed to fail and thus bring down Crystal Pepsi with it. Whatever its’ purpose, Tab Clear went the way of Crystal Pepsi and both disappeared. Coca-Cola, however, considered their clear diet soda foray a success since it took them 2 months to create versus Pepsi’s 18 months spent on Crystal Pepsi.
This saccharine-sweetened soda with a twist of lemon was introduced in 1975. Supposedly, the lemon flavor disguised the off-putting saccharine flavor. It was discontinued in the late 80s.
Diet Coke Plus, or Coca-Cola Light Plus in certain overseas markets, was positioned by the Coca-Cola Company as a healthy beverage thanks to its dose of vitamins and antioxidants and such, according to Scientific American. In reality, this stuff was no more healthy than the undoctored alternative and it flopped.
You can probably imagine why a diet bubble gum-flavored soda failed to catch on. And for that matter, if you have ever had a sugar-filled bubble gum-flavored soda, you probably won’t be surprised it too fizzled out. According to Parentology, Hubba Bubba sodas came out in sugary and diet form in the 1980s and were soon gone.
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7UP Gold was a spicy, sugar-free soda with a hit of caffeine. This relic of the 1980s was even less of a success than the sugary version of 7UP Gold, which was comparable to an old-timey spiced ginger ale. Today, you can score a can of Diet 7UP Gold on an internet auction site for well over $200. And that’s an empty can, FYI.
REALTED: 15 Discontinued Sodas You’ll Never See Again
Jolt Cola had a diehard following for decades. Boasting twice the caffeine of a standard cola, this liquid energy source was on shelves long before energy drinks were a thing. Want the caffeine without the sugar? Then Diet Jolt Cola was your best bet. That or… coffee. And today, stick with coffee or an energy drink, because no form of Jolt is sold anymore, according to Brand Informers, and that’s despite a brief return in 2017.
Diet Coke Lime was actually quite a tasty beverage according to many fans, but it just wasn’t moving enough units. In order to minimize bad press, Coca-Cola discontinued the beverage without much in the way of comment, simply ceasing production and shipments in 2018, according to BuzzFeed. You can still create a Diet Coke Lime soda yourself, though, at soft drink machine kiosks found in some fast-food restaurants.
It’s a mouthful just to say “Diet Dr. Pepper Berries & Cream” but apparently it was a pretty tasty mouthful of a sugar-free soda. That said, both the diet and sugary versions of this soda were nixed back in 2007. Knowing there were still some fans out there, however, Dr. Pepper brought the flavor back for some limited promotional giveaways just this year, via Elite Daily.
Pepsi Jazz came in wild flavors like Jazz with Black Cherry and French Vanilla, Jazz with Strawberries and Cream, and Caramel Cream. To be clear, Black Cherry and French Vanilla is one flavor, all of those tastes, plus a classic Pepsi cola flavor, were supposed to come through together.
In 2010, Mountain Dew started a promotion called “FanDEWmonium” with a diet spin. 8 diet flavors with catchy names like Diet Super Nova, Diet Voltage, and Diet Crave were available to taste at specific tour locations. The fans then voted on the sodas. In the end, Diet Super Nova, a strawberry-melon flavor, won over Diet Voltage. It hit the shelves for 12 weeks but never quite caught on and was discontinued.
A previous version of this article was originally published on Mar 24, 2022.
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