Sierra Mist

Sierra Mist was a lemon-lime flavored carbonated soft-drink brand created by PepsiCo for the United States market. Introduced in 1999, it was developed to compete with established lemon-lime sodas such as Coca-Cola's Sprite and 7 Up. The name combined imagery associated with mountains and water droplets: "sierra" refers to a mountain range in Spanish, while both mist and dew describe fine water droplets, creating an indirect thematic connection with PepsiCo's Mountain Dew brand. The drink expanded nationally over its early years and was available throughout the United States by 2003. Its history was marked by repeated changes to its formula, sweeteners, naming, and marketing. The original formulation used different combinations of sugar and high-fructose corn syrup over time. In 2010, PepsiCo introduced Sierra Mist Natural, which replaced high-fructose corn syrup with sucrose and presented the product as a more natural alternative. By 2013, the shorter Sierra Mist name had returned, and in 2014 PepsiCo changed the sweetener system again by combining sucrose with stevia in an effort to reduce calories. Consumer criticism reportedly focused on the aftertaste associated with stevia. PepsiCo announced another substantial brand change in late 2015. During 2016, Sierra Mist was renamed Mist Twst in some markets, and the formula again included high-fructose corn syrup. The Mist Twst identity was short-lived: the brand returned to the Sierra Mist name in 2018. These changes reflected the competitive pressure facing mainstream carbonated soft drinks, including demand for different sweetener profiles, lower-calorie choices, and clearer product positioning. Marketing was a significant part of the brand's identity. Its "Mist Takes" campaign used improv-oriented comedy and featured performers including Nicole Sullivan, Debra Wilson, Aries Spears, Jim Gaffigan, Michael Ian Black, Kathy Griffin, Tracy Morgan, and Guillermo Diaz. Spanish-language versions included performers associated with the Mexican television program Otro Rollo. Sierra Mist also supported entertainment and sports properties, including a limited-time Undercover Orange product connected with the 2007 Warner Bros. film Get Smart. In sports, the brand served as an official partner and sponsor of Major League Soccer and sponsored the New England Revolution and D.C. United until the league's beverage partnership changed in 2015. PepsiCo discontinued Sierra Mist in January 2023 and replaced it with Starry, a new lemon-lime soft-drink brand. Sierra Mist is therefore a defunct product brand rather than an active PepsiCo offering. Its importance within PepsiCo's beverage portfolio lies in its long-running attempt to establish a distinct challenger to Sprite and 7 Up through national distribution, formula experimentation, comedy-led advertising, sports sponsorship, and successive rebrandings.

PepsiCo introduced Sierra Mist in 1999 as a United States lemon-lime soft drink positioned against Sprite and 7 Up. The brand name used mountain and water imagery: "sierra" means mountain range in Spanish, while mist and dew refer to water droplets. This naming also created a loose conceptual relationship with PepsiCo's Mountain Dew, although Sierra Mist occupied the lemon-lime segment rather than Mountain Dew's citrus-caffeine positioning. The brand achieved national distribution during its early development and was available in all United States markets by 2003. Its original formulation changed over time. Between 2000 and 2006, it used combinations of high-fructose corn syrup and sugar; from 2006 through 2010, high-fructose corn syrup was the stated sweetener. Diet Sierra Mist used aspartame and acesulfame potassium. In August 2010, PepsiCo introduced Sierra Mist Natural, replacing the earlier formula with one based on sucrose and presenting a shorter ingredient list. The product subsequently returned to the simpler Sierra Mist name by 2013. In 2014, PepsiCo altered the formula again by combining sucrose and stevia to lower calories. The stevia formulation generated negative consumer reactions associated with an unpleasant aftertaste. PepsiCo then pursued a broader identity change. In December 2015, it announced that Sierra Mist would become Mist Twst, a change implemented in some markets during 2016. The renamed product also restored high-fructose corn syrup to the formula. In July 2018, the company reversed the naming decision and restored Sierra Mist. Promotion relied heavily on comedy and cultural partnerships. The 2005 "Mist Takes" advertising series used improvisational performances and featured a rotating group of comedians and actors, including Nicole Sullivan, Debra Wilson, Aries Spears, Jim Gaffigan, Michael Ian Black, Kathy Griffin, Tracy Morgan, and Guillermo Diaz. Spanish-language versions used performers connected with Otro Rollo. A 2007 limited-time Undercover Orange variant, including a diet version, supported the release of Get Smart. Sierra Mist also sponsored Major League Soccer, including the New England Revolution and D.C. United. That league relationship ended in 2015 after Coca-Cola became an MLS and United States Soccer Federation partner. PepsiCo discontinued Sierra Mist in January 2023. Starry replaced it as PepsiCo's lemon-lime soft-drink brand. Accordingly, Sierra Mist's lifecycle ended after more than two decades of national-market distribution, multiple sweetener and formula revisions, a temporary rebrand, and sustained competition in a mature soft-drink category.

1. 2023Brand discontinued

   PepsiCo discontinues Sierra Mist and replaces it with Starry.

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2. 2018Sierra Mist name restored

   PepsiCo reverses the Mist Twst naming and returns to Sierra Mist.

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3. 2016Mist Twst rebrand

   Sierra Mist is renamed Mist Twst in some markets and receives another formula change.

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4. 2014Stevia is added

   The brand adopts a sucrose-and-stevia sweetener combination to reduce calories.

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5. 2010Sierra Mist Natural replaces the earlier formula

   PepsiCo introduces a sucrose-sweetened version marketed as Sierra Mist Natural.

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6. 2003National United States availability

   The brand becomes available across all United States markets.

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7. 1999Sierra Mist is introduced

   PepsiCo launches Sierra Mist in the United States as a lemon-lime soft drink competing with Sprite and 7 Up.

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A mainstream, refreshing lemon-lime soft drink positioned as a PepsiCo alternative to Sprite and 7 Up, with periodic emphasis on natural sweeteners, reduced calories, entertainment, and sports marketing.

• Sierra MistLemon-lime carbonated soft drink1999

  The core Sierra Mist product was a clear, carbonated lemon-lime soft drink introduced by PepsiCo in 1999. It was designed for broad mainstream distribution and positioned directly against Sprite and 7 Up. Its formulation changed several times, including shifts among sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, and later a combination of sucrose and stevia. The brand was discontinued in 2023.

• Diet Sierra MistDiet lemon-lime carbonated soft drink

  Diet Sierra Mist was the lower-calorie extension of the brand. The documented original diet formulation used aspartame and acesulfame potassium as sweeteners. It was marketed alongside the standard clear lemon-lime soda and was also represented in limited-edition promotional activity such as Undercover Orange Free.

• Sierra Mist NaturalSucrose-sweetened lemon-lime carbonated soft drink2010

  Introduced in 2010, Sierra Mist Natural replaced the earlier Sierra Mist formula and used sucrose rather than high-fructose corn syrup. Its stated ingredient profile emphasized carbonated water, citric acid, natural flavor, potassium citrate, and an EDTA preservative. The Natural name was later dropped, with the brand reverting to Sierra Mist by 2013.

• Mist TwstRebranded lemon-lime carbonated soft drink2016

  Mist Twst was the temporary 2016 identity for Sierra Mist. PepsiCo announced the change in late 2015, and implementation occurred in some markets during 2016. The relaunch also restored high-fructose corn syrup to the formula. The name was abandoned in 2018 when PepsiCo returned to the Sierra Mist brand.

• Sierra Mist: Undercover OrangeLimited-edition mandarin-orange soft drink2007

  Undercover Orange was a limited-time Sierra Mist variant released in 2007 as a promotional tie-in with the Warner Bros. film Get Smart. It was a clear carbonated beverage with mandarin-orange flavoring. A corresponding Sierra Mist Free version was also promoted, extending the film partnership to the diet segment.

• 2007Undercover Orange / Get Smart tie-in

  United States

  PepsiCo released Sierra Mist Undercover Orange and Sierra Mist Free Undercover Orange as limited-time promotional products connected with the Warner Bros. film Get Smart.

  Outcome. The variants served as a temporary entertainment-marketing extension of the Sierra Mist portfolio.

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• 2005Mist Takes

  United States

  A series of improv-based commercials used comedians and actors to give Sierra Mist a deliberately spontaneous, comedy-led identity. Participants over the campaign's run included Nicole Sullivan, Debra Wilson, Aries Spears, Jim Gaffigan, Michael Ian Black, Kathy Griffin, Tracy Morgan, and Guillermo Diaz. Spanish-language adaptations featured performers associated with Otro Rollo.

  Outcome. The campaign became one of the brand's principal national advertising platforms.

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• Major League Soccer sponsorship

  United States

  Sierra Mist served as an official partner and sponsor of Major League Soccer and supported the New England Revolution and D.C. United.

  Outcome. The league relationship ended in 2015 when Coca-Cola became a partner of Major League Soccer and the United States Soccer Federation.

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• 2023Discontinue Sierra Mist and launch Starry as replacementStrategy

  After years of formula and branding changes, PepsiCo decided to retire the Sierra Mist identity in the United States.

  What changed. PepsiCo discontinued Sierra Mist and replaced it with Starry, another lemon-lime soft-drink brand.

  Aftermath. Sierra Mist became a defunct brand, while Starry assumed PepsiCo's lemon-lime position in the market.

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• 2016Rebrand Sierra Mist as Mist TwstGeneration change

  PepsiCo pursued a new name and formula for its lemon-lime offering while competing in a crowded carbonated soft-drink segment.

  What changed. The company introduced the Mist Twst name in some markets and returned high-fructose corn syrup to the formula.

  Aftermath. The Mist Twst identity lasted approximately two years before PepsiCo restored the Sierra Mist name in 2018.

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• 2014Adopt a sucrose-and-stevia formulaGeneration change

  PepsiCo sought to lower calories in the drink while retaining a sweetened, mainstream taste profile.

  What changed. The formula was changed to use sucrose combined with stevia.

  Aftermath. The change attracted complaints about an unpleasant stevia aftertaste and was followed by another major identity and formula change.

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• 2010Replace the original formula with Sierra Mist NaturalGeneration change

  PepsiCo changed the sweetener and ingredient positioning of its lemon-lime brand amid consumer interest in simpler or more familiar sweeteners.

  What changed. The company introduced Sierra Mist Natural, using sucrose instead of high-fructose corn syrup.

  Aftermath. The Natural name was later dropped, and the brand returned to the shorter Sierra Mist identity by 2013.

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• 2023PepsiCo discontinues Sierra Mist and introduces Starry as replacement

  PepsiCo discontinued Sierra Mist and replaced it in the lemon-lime soft-drink category with Starry.

  Product launchProduct generation
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• 2018Mist Twst returns to the Sierra Mist name

  PepsiCo reverted the Mist Twst branding to Sierra Mist.

  Product generation
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• 2016Sierra Mist is renamed Mist Twst

  Following an announcement in late 2015, the brand name changed to Mist Twst in some markets and the formula brought high-fructose corn syrup back.

  Product generationOther
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• 2014Sierra Mist formula adds stevia

  The formula was changed to combine sucrose and stevia in an effort to reduce calories, though the change drew complaints about aftertaste.

  Product generation
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• 2010PepsiCo launches Sierra Mist Natural

  PepsiCo replaced the earlier formula with Sierra Mist Natural, which used sucrose rather than high-fructose corn syrup as its principal sweetener.

  Product generationProduct launch
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• 2003Sierra Mist reaches all United States markets

  The brand had expanded to national availability across the United States by this year.

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• 1999PepsiCo introduces Sierra Mist in the United States

  PepsiCo launched Sierra Mist as a lemon-lime soft drink intended to compete with Sprite and 7 Up.

  Product launch
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1. Sierra Mist