Sierra Mist: History, Varieties & Brands

Snack History Nostalgia Rating: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆

There are few sodas that are as instantly recognizable to people as Sierra Mist. This soda has long been one of the most beloved clear sodas around, and its only real competition in this space is 7Up. Sierra Mist was meant to compete directly with Sprite as well as 7Up, but many people think of all three of these sodas with fondness and consider them to be basically the same thing. Even though the original recipe for this product is no longer sold and the Sierra Mist brand has been renamed Starry, this is essentially still the familiar lemon-lime soda that everyone loves.

Lemon-lime flavored and clear sodas are still popular, but there is not a lot of room in the market to make any new versions of the same idea. This means that you will never find quite what you are looking for when you try any off-brand clear soda. It just won’t be the same as Sierra Mist or any of the other original sodas of this kind.

History

Sierra Mist was a relative latecomer to the clear soda game. 7up and Sprite were already well-established in 1999 when Sierra Mist hit the shelves. However, Sierra Mis filled a slightly different niche inside the market because it was slightly less sweet than its competitors and also cleverly marketed as a restaurant product in the beginning. 

When Sierra Mist was sent to market in stores around the US, it was also sold alongside a Zero-Sugar version of Sierra Mist and Slice. Slice was supposed to be lemon-lime flavored specifically, although it can be argued that Sierra Mist already fit this flavor profile quite neatly. PepsiCo also offered up Storm within the product line not long after these other variations of the soda.

Sierra Mist was actually selected over and over again as the best-tasting clear soda in comparison with the more established brands. Heartened by these taste tests, PepsiCo put most of its effort into promoting Sierra Mist and did not work as hard to keep the other versions of the product in front of consumers. The company leaned into the marketing concept that the soda was as refreshing as a natural mountain spring in the early years. There were many versions of the ads and marketing materials that made it clear that the soda was somehow connected with the mountains.

In 2006, when the first big move was made in the food industry to get away from high-fructose corn syrup, Sierra Mist lagged behind its competitors. This became one of the areas of focus for the brand when they felt that sales were flagging. By 2010, the company came out with a Sierra Mist Natural product that was sweetened with sucrose. This naming convention went by the wayside quickly, and they added stevia to the recipe in 2013. When the stevia product was released, it was again called Sierra Mist without the added “natural” tacked onto it.

However, not confident in their naming conventions, PepsiCo again renamed the product in 2015. They called it Mist Twist, and it was once again made with high-fructose corn syrup. This return to basics did not last either, and in July of 2018, PepsiCo again changed things up by discontinuing Sierra Mist and then releasing Starry to replace it. While the company is pretending that this is a brand-new product, it is really just the Sierra Mist of old with a few adjustments.

So while this is technically a product that is no longer sold, you can still enjoy Sierra Mist in its new incarnation as Starry. The beautiful marketing plan that backs up Starry and the lovely and engaging cans and bottles show a lot of promise. For those who prefer Sierra Mist to the other clear soda alternatives on the market today, Starry is a welcome addition to the soda offerings at the grocery store.

Starry is being marketed as a “caffeine-free soda that provides a crisp, clear burst of lemon-lime flavor”. This sounds a lot like the way that Sierra Mist was described when it first landed on the market as well. Since the recipe is so similar to the original product, that is probably an entirely fair description of what you will experience when you buy Starry at the store. Starry also comes in regular and Zero-Sugar, just like the original Sierra Mist products from 1999.

Ingredients

From the HEB entry for the product:

• Carbonated Water
• Sugar
• Citric Acid
• Natural Flavor
• Potassium Citrate
• Potassium Sorbate (Preserves Freshness)
• Purified Stevia Leaf Extract

This is, of course, the version of the soda that does not include high-fructose corn syrup. Compare these ingredients to the recipe for Starry:

• Carbonated Water
• High Fructose Corn Syrup
• Citric Acid
• Natural Flavor
• Potassium Benzoate (Preserves Freshness)
• Potassium Citrate
• Calcium Disodium EDTA (To Protect Flavor).

You can see that these are basically the same product but with different sweeteners. You will be able to enjoy a version of Sierra Mist that is actually a lot more like the original product when you buy Starry. This can be a relief for everyone who didn’t feel like the rebranded and healthier Sierra Mist hit the spot.

Nutrition

Serving Size:	1 can	% Daily Value*
Amount Per Serving
Calories	90
Total Fat	0g	0%
Sodium	20mg	1%
Total Carbohydrates	23g	8%
Sugars	23g
Added Sugars	23g	46%
Protein	0g

• The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Flavors:

• Original
• Slice
• Storm
• Zero Sugar
• Sierra Mist Free
• Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash
• Diet Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash
• Diet Sierra Mist
• Sierra Mist Free Cranberry Splash
• Sierra Mist Undercover Orange
• Diet Sierra Mist Ruby Splash
• Sierra Mist Ruby Splash
• Sierra Mist with real sugar
• Sierra Mist Strawberry Kiwi Splash
• Mist Twist
• Mist Twist Cherry
• Mist Twist Cranberry
• Diet Mist Twist 
• Diet Mist Twist Cranberry
• Starry

Livery

Sierra Mist had many different livery styles over the years as PepsiCo tried out one idea after another to market and branded their clear soda product. The company started out with a dark green label that had shiny—looking letters that stated the word, “mist”. Sierra was emblazoned in smaller letters above the word mist, and there was a little picture of a lemon and lime on top of the word mist as well.

Then in the early 2000s, the company went with a more abstract logo that was blue, yellow, and black. The lettering for the word mist was sharp and pointy, and the word Sierra was written in cursive lettering. The lemon and lime were still stamped on top of the words at this point.

Next, between 2006 and 2008, the logo went back to being placed over a green background. There were mountains behind the words, and the lettering was more blocky in nature. In 2008-2010, the dark green background stayed, but the word Sierra became smaller, and the word mist grew bigger and blurrier. 

In 2010, the logo was changed completely and appeared on a white background. The lemon and lime flavor was indicated with a lemon wedge that was both green and yellow, and the font for the words Sierra mist was more modern. This was short-lived, and between 2010 and 2013, the word Sierra went into the background, and the word mist was represented in big block letters. The lemon and lime were quite large in this logo as well.

By 2013-2016, the logo completely changed again, going back to a cursive font but then dropping the name of the soda into a ring of what looked like green and yellow paint. In 2015-2018, the logo was blocky and green and placed on top of a large lemon with a small lime wedge underneath the lettering. This was the “Mist Twist” era, so that is what the logo says instead of Sierra Mist. In 2018, before the product was finally discontinued, the logo went back to looking a lot like the original, but the yellow and green lemon wedge was back.

When you look at all the changes to the livery for this product, you can see just how clearly PepsiCo felt that the product had not found its voice. The livery for Starry is entirely different than these efforts, which will probably be a good break with this tradition. Hopefully, PepsiCo will stay the course with Starry and not change the appearance of the product every few years as they did when it was sold under the name Sierra Mist.

Starry is being marketed with a can that is split into two parts, one part green and the other yellow. The logo is beautiful and was created with large, art deco font. There is a lemon that is part yellow, and part green behind the logo, and little cartoony sparkling diamonds are scattered around the lettering. This is a really fun new way to represent the product, and it certainly looks fresh and exciting.

Logo

Pictures

Ads:

A lot of the ads for this product involved people being parched and being saved by Sierra Mist. Some of them, like this one with the frozen caveman, were also really silly:

Another commercial that includes a heat wave:

A Sierra Mist glacier commercial:

A Starry ad:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e06WZH9K8pk

FAQ