This Beloved ‘80s Soda Brand Is Back After a 15-Year Hiatus

Do you recall the soda rivalries that started heating up in the 1980s, such as the Pepsi Challenge? The challenge went to where the people were—malls, concert and sports parking lots, grocery stores—and asked consumers to blind taste test Pepsi and Coke. It was a nationwide marketing blitz designed to knock Coke off its throne, and it seemed to work for a time. Coca-Cola’s decision to get rid of its original cola formula, often attributed to the Pepsi Challenge result, and introduce New Coke is the stuff of legend—and not a good legend. The OG Coke was back on the shelves within months. 

Coke wasn’t the only Coca-Cola product PepsiCo. went after in the ’80s. It also went after Sprite, the lemon-lime soda that Coca-Cola introduced many years before to compete with 7UP. PepsiCo. introduced a new lemon-lime soda called Slice, and unlike Sprite, Slice had real fruit juice in it—a whopping 10 percent. The lemon-lime flavor was followed by orange, strawberry, pineapple, fruit punch, and grape. The soft drink’s memorable campaign slogan was “We got the juice.” 

But, somewhere along the way, PepsiCo got rid of the juice. By 2010, all Slice flavors had disappeared from shelves. But now it’s back, and PepsiCo. has nothing to do with it.

Slice Soda Returns to Store Shelves—with an Upgrade

PepsiCo. sold the Slice brand to Suja Life, and now the brand is getting a new life and a new purpose. It’s no longer just a soft drink. Slice now contains “Gusty Blend,” a digestive-supporting blend with prebiotics to feed good gut bacteria, probiotics to boost healthy microbes, and postbiotics to enhance overall gut health.

If only the ’80s Slice drinkers who thought 10 percent fruit juice made it a healthy drink could have seen this twist coming! Slice is now in the category of drinks known as “functional drinks,” like kombucha, sports drinks, and plant milk, while still remaining a fizzy soda. 

The new Slice comes in Grapefruit Spritz, Lemon Lime, Orange, and Strawberry flavors and should be on store shelves at select Target, Costco, Albertson’s, and HEB stores. Those flavors will be joined later this year by Classic Cola, Ginger Ale, and Grape. 

The jury is still out, though, on whether the new Slice will go the way of New Coke, or if the “gutsy” move to add digestive-supporting elements to the soda will be a big hit.