Sierra Mist - History

History

Following initial test marketing, PepsiCo first introduced Sierra Mist in 1999, replacing similar soft drinks such as lemon-lime Slice and the test-marketed Storm. The selection of the name "Sierra Mist" was based on favorable market research involving 2,000 people. "Sierra Mist" was selected from over 1,000 possible names. It is worth noting that "Sierra" had previously been a proposed name for what became the original (10% juice-formula, lemon-lime) Slice in 1984. Diet Sierra Mist was also introduced in 2000, and sales of both diet and original Sierra Mist totaled $100 million in its first year of production.

At the time of its launch in 1999, Sierra Mist was only distributed in certain regional markets, due to bottling and distribution agreements between Pepsi Bottling Group and 7 Up parent company Cadbury Schweppes. The PepsiCo bottlers continued to bottle 7 Up until existing agreements with Cadbury Schweppes expired in January 2003, at which point its distribution was expanded nationwide in the U.S. In 2004 the beverage had surpassed 7 Up on the basis of annual retail sales, placing it as the 2nd most-purchased lemon-lime soft drink in the U.S. (Sprite being the 1st).

In 2005, Diet Sierra Mist was renamed Sierra Mist Free, intended as a descriptor of the beverage being "free of" sugar, calories, carbohydrates and caffeine. This name change was reverted back to the original name, Diet Sierra Mist, in November 2008. In late 2006, PepsiCo introduced Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash. It was only available during the Winter holiday season. Cranberry Splash returned in the fall and winter of 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 along with Diet Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash. In May 2007 Sierra Mist Lemon Squeeze was introduced. This limited edition featured a higher concentration of lemon flavor and was only available through September 2007.

Sierra Mist can and bottle labels were redesigned as a part of Pepsico's broader redesign of its core carbonated soft drink brands in 2008, with Sierra Mist Free reverting back to the Diet Sierra Mist name in the process. The Sierra Mist logo was later redesigned again in March 2010 with a typeface similar to that of the current Pepsi design. Sierra Mist underwent a more significant rebranding in August 2010, in response to shifting consumer preferences towards products made with natural ingredients - according to beverage industry and general news media reporting at the time. On August 29, 2010, Sierra Mist was replaced with Sierra Mist Natural, although the original Sierra Mist still remained stocked in markets until late 2010. Updated logos, bottle labeling and can designs were also implemented at the same time. At this time, the Sierra Mist drink was reformulated, which is sweetened with sucrose, instead of high-fructose corn syrup.