PepsiCo Sierra Mist is a discontinued lemon-lime flavored soft drink line. Originally introduced by PepsiCo in 1999, it was eventually made available in all US markets by 2003. The drink was rebranded as "Mist Twst" in 2016, but reverted to Sierra Mist in 2018.

In January 2023, Starry replaced Sierra Mist as Pepsi's lemon-lime flavored drink, in part because Sierra Mist failed to gain market share in the growing category. Starry contains no caffeine, and as of April 2023 is available in Regular and Zero-Sugar varieties.

PepsiCo Inc. has discontinued its 24-year-old brand Sierra Mist and is rolling out a new lemon-lime soda, Starry, the company's latest effort to compete with Coca-Cola Co.'s popular Sprite soft drink.

Sprite has won. Sierra Mist is no more. Don't mourn its death.

PepsiCo is kicking off 2023 by introducing a new lemon-lime soda drink. Starry soda has officially replaced Sierra Mist nationwide in a bid to challenge Sprite's (a Coca-Cola product) dominance in the category. PepsiCo describes the caffeine-free soda as “easy-to-drink” and “optimally sweet.”

It's replacing Sierra Mist, a 24-year-old brand that has failed to gain traction against market leader Sprite, which is owned by main rival Coca-Cola. Pepsi's internal research showed that "demand for lemon-lime flavored soda has never been greater," the company said in a statement.

According to PepsiCo, Starry was developed in response to growing national demand for lemon-lime soda, and as a fresh attempt to compete with Sprite, the Coca-Cola Company-owned brand that has long led the category.

PepsiCo says there's an increased demand for lemon-lime sodas, and their solution is to scrap their existing Sierra Mist soda and replace it with a new variant called Starry. Sierra Mist sales have historically lagged far behind lemon-lime leader Sprite (owned by Coca-Cola), so PepsiCo went back to the drawing board.

It's replacing Sierra Mist, a 24-year-old brand that has failed to gain traction against market leader Sprite, which is owned by main rival Coca-Cola. Pepsi's internal research showed that "demand for lemon-lime flavored soda has never been greater," the company said in a statement.

Because Starry is replacing Sierra Mist, the assumption is that it's a better, upgraded lemon-lime soda. According to a PepsiCo representative, "Starry has higher citrus flavors that are true to fruit and more aromatic which delivers a more balanced, cleaner, crisp finish than Sierra Mist."

Coca-Cola's Sprite generated six times more in sales in 2021, according to research firm Statista. PepsiCo finally decided to retire Sierra Mist for good in January of this year. And before we even got the chance to mourn the loss, they released Starry in its place. Store shelves were swapped seemingly overnight.

After 24 years, Pepsi has made the decision to pull Sierra Mist off the shelves. According to CNN Business, right now people are wanting to buy lemon-lime soda, and internal research at Pepsi showed that “demand for lemon lime flavored soda has never been greater.”