Slice Soda Is Making A Comeback With A Millennial-Friendly Twist
In addition to all television shows and films from the 80s and 90s that are getting the reboot treatment, food and drink products from those decades are also not safe from the resurgence.
Last year, we saw companies re-introduce some of our favorite drinks from back in the day, including Orbitz, Surge, Crystal Pepsi(this time with added caffeine), Zima (the "zenzational" clear fizzy malt), and Jolt Cola.
Now, PepsiCo is once again trying to make you feel the nostalgia with the revival of another one of their popular drinks: Slice.
Decades before Sierra Mist was introduced, PepsiCo created a fruit-infused fizzy beverage called Slice. The brand had big success with its release in 1984, and it even inspired other companies to create similar versions of it, like Coca-Cola's Minute Maid.
However, by 1994, the hype began to subside, and honestly it's probably because they no longer stuck by their 10% juice content promise.
In an attempt to save Slice, PepsiCo created a diet version of the beverage, but that did not improve sales. The company discontinued the drink sometime in the late 2000s.
Thanks to the success of the company's other beverage revivals, Slice is officially making a comeback, but of course, like everything else in 2018, it will have a millennial-friendly twist.
According to the Chicago Tribune, PepsiCo sold the beverages trademark rights to a businessman named Mark Thomann, and he will be distributing the drink under the new name New Slice Ventures.
Thomann's partner in this new venture, Gelnn Backus, told the publication that's it is still too early to confirm specific details like which flavors will return, but we're holding out hope that we'll see our favorite flavors, like lemon-lime, orange, and berry on the shelves.
Unfortunately, even if those beloved flavors were to be brought back, the new Slice won't be exactly the same beverage we came to love way back when.
The one big caveat is that the soda will be turned into a low-caloric beverage since nowadays people are more drawn to "healthier" products. Slice will be low in sugar, and there's a high chance that it will contain more than 10% fruit juice. In fact, the new soda may even include real and organic fruit juice.
Still, Thomann has reason to believe that despite the drink's new format, it will be more successful than its original run.
“If we were just relaunching it the way it was before, I don’t think it would be successful. … We believe this will be a $100 million brand in the next five years,” Thomann said.
When should we expect to get a taste of this sweet nostalgia? Hopefully in sometime in the next six months, according to Thomann.