Walk into any gas station or grocery store today and you’ll see those bright, neon-yellow and green cans. Starry. It’s everywhere. If you feel like it just appeared out of thin air one Tuesday in early 2023, you aren't wrong.
But what did Starry replace? Honestly, it stepped into the massive shoes of Sierra Mist, a brand that PepsiCo spent over twenty years trying to make "happen."
Sierra Mist wasn't just a random soda. It was Pepsi’s primary weapon in the never-ending lemon-lime wars against Sprite. For more than two decades, it sat on shelves, changed its recipe a dozen times, and even changed its name once before. Then, suddenly, it was gone.
The Death of Sierra Mist
PepsiCo officially pulled the plug on Sierra Mist in January 2023. It wasn't a slow fade, either. They basically stopped production and swapped the inventory for Starry almost overnight.
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Why? It comes down to the brutal reality of the beverage market. By the time it was discontinued, Sierra Mist held a depressing 0.1% market share. Meanwhile, Coca-Cola’s Sprite was sitting pretty with about 7% of the total soda market. Sprite wasn't just winning; it was lapping the competition.
Pepsi realized they couldn't just keep "tweaking" Sierra Mist. They needed to blow it up and start over.
Is Starry Just a Rebrand?
You've probably heard someone say Starry is just Sierra Mist in a new outfit. That’s actually a myth.
While they both hit those lemon and lime notes, the formulas are fundamentally different. The most controversial change? The sweetener.
- Sierra Mist (Late Era): Used real cane sugar. This was its "thing" for a long time—a cleaner, more natural profile.
- Starry: Switched back to high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).
Why go back to corn syrup? It’s not just about cost. HFCS provides a different kind of "mouthfeel" and sweetness that mimics the market leader, Sprite. PepsiCo’s R&D team also cranked up the citrus oils. If you sip them side-by-side (if you can even find an old Sierra Mist), you’ll notice Starry has a much sharper, more "aromatic" citrus punch. It’s "zippy" in a way Sierra Mist never quite managed to be.
The Generation Gap
The transition from Sierra Mist to Starry was a calculated move to capture Gen Z.
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Sierra Mist felt like a "mom and dad" soda. It was safe. It was pleasant. It was... boring. PepsiCo’s marketing for Starry, using the tagline "Starry Hits Different," is a direct play for a younger demographic that values "irreverence" and bold aesthetics.
The branding looks like something you’d see in a trendy digital art gallery—lots of high contrast and bright colors. It’s designed to pop on a TikTok feed.
A Quick History of Pepsi's Lemon-Lime Struggles
Starry isn't the first time Pepsi has tried to find its footing here.
- Teem: The original 1960s contender.
- Slice: Remember those? Launched in the 80s with real fruit juice.
- Storm: A short-lived test brand in the late 90s.
- Sierra Mist: Launched in 1999.
- Mist Twst: A weird 2016 rebrand that failed and reverted back to Sierra Mist in 2018.
Basically, Pepsi has been searching for a "Sprite killer" for over fifty years.
The Viral Lawsuit Rumor
If you spend much time on social media, you might have seen a creator named Cierra Mistt claiming that Pepsi changed the soda's name because of her. She’s a popular TikToker who claimed PepsiCo sent her cease-and-desist letters over the name.
Is that why Sierra Mist died? Probably not.
While legal disputes over trademarks are real and messy, a multi-billion dollar corporation doesn't kill a legacy brand because of a TikTok handle. The decision was driven by that 0.1% market share. They needed a product that could actually compete for shelf space.
What This Means for You
If you were a die-hard fan of the real-sugar taste of Sierra Mist, Starry might be a disappointment. It’s sweeter and has a more lingering aftertaste. However, if you always thought Sierra Mist was a bit "flat" compared to a McDonald's Sprite, Starry is much closer to that high-carbonation, high-citrus experience.
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Next time you’re at the fountain, look for the Starry logo. It’s effectively the same "slot" in the Pepsi portfolio, but the juice inside is a whole different animal.
Actionable Insight: If you’re looking for that old-school Sierra Mist flavor (real sugar, no corn syrup), look for 7UP in glass bottles or "Natural" boutique lemon-lime sodas. Most mainstream fountain lemon-lime drinks have now moved toward the high-citrus, high-fructose profile that Starry represents.