Slice was a line of fruit-flavored soft drinks originally manufactured by PepsiCo and introduced in 1984[2] (to replace the Teem brand) but discontinued by PepsiCo in North America in the late 2000s. Slice was reintroduced in the United States and Canada as a brand of Organic food by "New Slice Ventures LLC",[3] which acquired the trademark rights in those countries.[4]
Slice was also reintroduced in India by PepsiCo in 2008 as a mango-flavored fruit drink[1] where it is currently advertised as Tropicana Slice.[5]
History
The original Lemon Lime Slice was introduced in 1984 as a replacement for Teem, and a competitor to Sprite and 7 Up. Its distinguishing characteristic at the time was that it contained 10% fruit juice. A diet version was introduced in 1985. The line was expanded in 1986 with Mandarin Orange, Apple, and Cherry Cola flavors, including diet versions of each. Advertisements during this era featured the slogan "We got the juice".
Slice was a big success upon release, inspiring other juice-infused drinks based on already existing juice brands, such as Coca-Cola's Minute Maid orange soda and Cadbury Schweppes's Sunkist. By May 1987, Slice held 3.2 percent of the soft drink market. One year later, it had fallen to 2.1 percent and was below 2 percent in June 1988.[6] By 1988, the juice content had been reduced (packaging now said "with fruit juices" instead of "10% fruit juices"), the slogan was changed to "Either you got it or you don't", and the Apple and Cherry Cola flavors had been discontinued.
By 1990, the packaging had been redesigned, and the juice content dropped entirely. The line of flavors was also expanded again, this time with flavors more similar to competitors like Crush, including Strawberry, Pineapple, Fruit Punch, and Grape. Slice advertising in the early 1990s featured Fido Dido, a character associated with US competitor 7 Up in international markets where PepsiCo has the rights to the latter brand. Lemon Lime Slice used the slogan "Clearly the One" during this era.[7][8]
The first two can and bottle designs featured a solid color related to the flavor of the drink. These were replaced in 1994 with black cans that featured colorful bursts related to the flavor of the drink, along with slicker graphics. More new flavors were made available during this era, including Dr Slice, a competitor to Dr Pepper. In 1997, the cans became blue with color-coordinated swirls. The Mandarin Orange flavor was reformulated around this time as an "Orange Citrus" flavor with the new slogan, "It's orange, only twisted." It would subsequently be reformulated again as just Orange Slice.
In the summer of 2000, lemon-lime Slice was replaced in most markets by Sierra Mist, which became a national brand in 2003. The rest of the Slice line was replaced in most markets by Tropicana Twister Soda in the summer of 2005.
In early 2006, Pepsi resurrected the Slice name for a new line of diet soda called Slice ONE. Marketed exclusively at Walmart stores, Slice ONE was available in orange, grape and berry flavors, all sweetened with Splenda.
As of 2009, Slice (orange, diet orange, grape, strawberry and peach flavors) was available solely from Wal-Mart Stores.
Slice was launched in India in 1993 as a mango flavored drink and quickly went on to become a leading player in the category. In India, 'Slice Mango' is promoted by Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif.[5] Slice mango is also available in Pakistan.
Slice was discontinued by PepsiCo at an unknown date in the United States between the late 2000s to early or mid 2010s, no longer being on PepsiCo's "Product Locator" website.
It appears to have been replaced in the PepsiCo product line with Starry, the successor to Sierra Mist, as of January 2023.
By 2018, New Slice Ventures LLC had acquired the Slice trademark portfolio in the United States and Canada, and was working with Revolution Brands, Dormitus Brands and Spiral Sun Ventures, to re-launch a lower-sugar, lower-calorie beverage sweetened only with USDA-certified organic fruit juice.[9]
In December 2018, New Slice Ventures announced[10] that its new Slice-branded products had become available for wholesale pre-order in four flavors: Raspberry & Grapefruit, Blackberry, Mango & Pineapple and Apple & Cranberry.[11] In late 2022, New Slice Ventures re-branded the product in a "retro-style," and released four new flavors: Orange, Lemon-Lime, Cherry and Berry. The product is available in a variety of retail stores, as well as on the brand's website.
Flavors
Originally, the drink contained 10% fruit juice; the juice content was reduced by 1988 and eliminated by 1990.
Crush is a brand of carbonated soft drinks owned and marketed internationally by Keurig Dr Pepper, originally created as an orange soda, Orange Crush. Crush competes with Coca-Cola's Fanta. It was created in 1911 by beverage and extract chemist Neil C. Ward. Most flavors of Crush are caffeine-free.
Canada Dry is a brand of soft drinks founded in 1904 and owned since 2008 by the American company Dr Pepper Snapple. For over 100 years, Canada Dry has been known mainly for its ginger ale, though the company also manufactures a number of other soft drinks and mixers. Although Canada Dry originated in Canada, as the brand name suggests, it is now produced in many countries such as the United States, Panama, Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica, Japan, and in a number of countries of Europe and the Middle East.
Minute Maid is a product line of beverages, usually associated with lemonade or orange juice, but which now extends to soft drinks of different kinds, including Hi-C. Minute Maid is sold under the Cappy brand in Central Europe and under the brand "Моя Семья" in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Minute Maid was the first company to market frozen orange juice concentrate, allowing it to be distributed throughout the United States and served year-round. The Minute Maid Company is owned by The Coca-Cola Company, the world's largest marketer of fruit juices and drinks. The firm opened its headquarters in Sugar Land Town Square in Sugar Land, Texas, United States, on February 16, 2009; previously it was headquartered in the 2000 St. James Place building in Houston.
Orange soft drinks are carbonated orange drinks.
Fruitopia is a fruit-flavored drink introduced by the Coca-Cola Company's successful Minute Maid brand in 1994 and targeted at teens and young adults. According to New York Times business reports, it was invented as part of a push by Minute Maid to capitalize on the success of Snapple and other flavored tea drinks. The brand gained substantial hype in the mid-1990s before enduring lagging sales by decade's end. While still available in Canada and Australia as a juice brand, in 2003, Fruitopia was phased out in most of the United States where it had struggled for several years. However, select flavors have since been revamped under Minute Maid. Use of the Fruitopia brand name continues through various beverages in numerous countries, including some McDonald's restaurant locations in the United States, which carry the drink to this day.
Hi-C is a fruit juice-flavored drink made by the Minute Maid division of The Coca-Cola Company. It was created by Niles Foster in 1946 and released in 1947. The sole original flavor was orange.
Teem was a brand of lemon-lime-flavored soft drink produced by The Pepsi-Cola Company. It was introduced in 1959 as Pepsi's answer to 7 Up and Sprite.
Polar Beverages is a soft drink company based in Worcester, Massachusetts. It is a manufacturer and distributor of sparkling fruit beverages, seltzer, ginger ale, drink mixers, and spring water to customers in the United States. It is the largest independent soft-drink bottler in the United States.
Monster Beverage Corporation is an American beverage company that manufactures energy drinks including Monster Energy, Relentless and Burn. The company was originally founded as Hansen's in 1935 in Southern California, originally selling juice products. The company renamed itself as Monster Beverage in 2012, and then sold their Hansen's juices and sodas and their other non-energy drink brands to the Coca-Cola Company in 2015.
Blue Sky Beverage Company was a beverage company that produced soft drinks and energy drinks. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Monster Beverage Corporation. The company was established in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1980, where it remained until it was purchased by Monster in 2000. Coca-Cola North America took ownership of Blue Sky Sodas, Hansen’s Juice Products, Hansen’s Natural Sodas, Hubert’s Lemonade, Peace Tea and other non-energy drink brands as part of Coke’s partnership with Monster Beverage Corp on Jun 12, 2015. Blue Sky Beverage Company now operates out of Corona, California. The southwestern look and feel of the artwork on the soda cans is reminiscent of the company's roots in New Mexico.
Sun Crest. is a brand of flavored carbonated soft drink manufactured by The Dad's Root Beer Company, LLC. of Jasper, Indiana and owned by Hedinger Brands, LLC, except for 6 countries in Asia owned by The Monarch Beverage Company, Inc. of Atlanta, Georgia. Sun Crest Orange is currently available in fountain service and glass bottles in select markets in the U.S.
Tru Blu Beverages is an Australian soft drink producer. 1 in 6 beverages purchased by Australian consumers through supermarkets is made by Tru Blu Beverages. Employing 400 people nationally, they are an important manufacturer in the Australian business sector, and are the No. 3 non-alcoholic, non-dairy beverage manufacturer in Australia. The beverages are sold nationally through leading supermarkets, corner stores, petrol and convenience outlets. The company has state of the art factories in 3 states and offices in each major capital city.
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