The Biggest Soda Failures of All Time (And Why They Failed)

There are plenty of classic, unforgettable sodas on the market that people never seem to get over. And loving drinks such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Sprite, or Dr. Pepper even after decades does have a decent reason. However, sometimes the most memorable drinks are the ones that failed so weirdly that people just couldn’t stop talking about them.

Believe it or not, a new soda drink can have a famous brand behind it. It can come with a creative marketing campaign and an idea that looks exciting at first glance. But even if people enjoy the taste and like the concept behind the campaign, things may still go in unexpected ways. 

In this article, we’ll discuss the biggest soda failures of all time. 

1. Crystal Pepsi

If there’s one particular beverage that can be considered a real failure, it has to be Crystal Pepsi. The original idea was to create a clear version of Pepsi that looked fresh and futuristic but still tasted like the classic cola people already knew. The brand probably hoped this would make Pepsi seem more modern and increase its popularity.

However, the problem with the beverage was that the audience thought the appearance mismatched the taste, and got confused. Since the drink was transparent, people expected something lighter, closer to Sprite or maybe something resembling sparkling water. But what they got was a cola flavor that just looked transparent. As a result, by 1994, it was already gone. 

We can only guess the real reason why Crystal Pepsi felt strange for the customers, but in general, this kind of confusion is well-documented in food psychology. Sometimes apps like Nibble help users savor the science, culture, and history of food to cook and eat smarter. Through its dedicated Food category, you can explore how taste, branding, and even expectations affect the way people react to food and drinks. In a way, the discontinuation of Crystal Pepsi is a perfect example of this. 

2. New Coke

Pepsi isn’t the only famous brand that failed after trying to experiment with its classic drink. In fact, the initial idea of the Coca-Cola company was to reformulate its classic recipe, which was already famous worldwide. Not surprisingly, the attempt to change their classic formula made the fans angry, and as a result, Coca-Cola ended up discontinuing New Coke sooner than …

Interestingly, one of the reasons why the brand was convinced New Coke would work was blind tests where people showed they preferred the new, sweeter version. But somehow, after the product was released, people did not react the same way. Most likely, the emotional attachment people had with the classic version of the product was exactly what Coca-Cola underestimated. To avoid losing their loyal customers, the brand had no other choice but to bring back the classic Coke. 

3. Sprite Remix

After Coca-Cola and Pepsi, Sprite isn’t the exception either, and this widely beloved drink has also made some risky experiments over the years. One of the most memorable, yet failed, examples is Sprite Remix. This soda variation was first created in the early 2000s. The drink was supposed to be a fruit-flavored version of regular Sprite. In the beginning, fans actually liked the new, tropical taste and found it refreshing. 

However, it seems like the brand wasn’t fully satisfied with the decision (or the sales), and in just two years, they discontinued Sprite Remix. Unlike Crystal Pepsi and New Coke, it’s hard to say whether discontinuing Sprite Remix was a good idea because fans adored it. The company even brought it back in 2016 for a limited time.

4. Orbitz

Orbitz was another famous failed drink that looked like a lava lamp in a bottle. Today you might as well associate it with bubble tea because of the small floating balls inside. But back in the 1990s, these small elements in a soda drink weren’t really enough to attract customers steadily enough. 

Even though the company, Clearly Canadian Beverage Corporation, was certain this drink would be just a “texturally enhanced alternative beverage,” customers didn’t really like the idea, and it lasted only about two years before being discontinued in 1999. 

5. Pepsi Blue

The final drink on this list of soda failures proves that Pepsi never really learned its lesson. After Crystal Pepsi confused people with its transparent cola idea, the brand later introduced another unusual experiment and created a variation of Pepsi with a blue color. The aim of releasing Pepsi Blue in 2002 was actually to compete with Coca-Cola’s newly released Vanilla Coke drink. Pepsi indeed wanted to attract younger customers who were looking for something more playful than regular cola. 

However, in order to get the blue color in soda, the brand used a food coloring agent that wasn’t accepted in specific states and was considered controversial at the time. As a result, Pepsi Blue didn’t manage to stay on the market for long.

Bottom Line

As you can see, whether it’s bad timing, bad flavors, the wrong marketing campaign, or even just bad luck, sometimes even the most famous brands fail. These famous soda failures are proof that drink campaigns are risky even for as big brands as Coca-Cola or Pepsi. Still, these five sodas are never completely forgotten, and somehow they even seem to have become more interesting after disappearing, because people start looking back at them with nostalgia. So even if they didn’t work as everyday drinks, they do have a special place in soda history.