9 Sodas Your Parents Drank That Were Discontinued Forever

If you grew up in the 1960s or 1970s, you probably remember your parents reaching into the refrigerator for a soda that you can’t buy anymore. Maybe it was your mother’s pink can of diet cola, or your father’s favorite lemon-lime that came in a glass bottle with a twist-off cap. Those drinks were part of everyday life, and then they slowly disappeared from the shelves.

The soda aisle has always been a battlefield. Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and smaller companies have launched hundreds of drinks over the years, hoping to find the next big hit. Some became legends. Others faded away when sales dropped, tastes changed, or companies decided to focus on their biggest brands.

These nine sodas were once sitting in refrigerators across America. Some lasted for decades, while others had a short but memorable run. All of them are gone, or nearly so, today.

1. Tab

Coca-Cola launched Tab in 1963 as one of the first diet sodas in America. It came in a bright pink can and became a favorite with women who were watching their figures. In the 1970s, it was so popular that it was almost a symbol of the era’s diet culture.

Tab lost much of its audience after Diet Coke arrived in 1982, but it kept a small and fiercely loyal following. In 2020, Coca-Cola announced it would discontinue Tab as part of a plan to trim weaker brands. Fans held farewell parties and stocked up on the last cans they could find.

2. Patio Diet Cola

Pepsi’s first diet cola was called Patio, and it was introduced in 1963, the same year as Tab. It was aimed at people who wanted the taste of cola without the calories. Patio didn’t last long under that name. In 1964, Pepsi renamed it Diet Pepsi, which went on to become one of the most popular diet sodas in America.

The Patio name was briefly used for a line of fruit-flavored sodas, but those also faded away. Today, few people remember the original Patio, but it was the beginning of one of the biggest soda brands in the country.

3. Teem

Teem was Pepsi’s lemon-lime soda, created to compete with 7 Up and Sprite. It was sold for years in glass bottles and cans, and many families kept it on hand to settle upset stomachs or to mix with fruit punch at parties.

Teem gradually disappeared from American shelves as Pepsi moved on to other lemon-lime drinks, including Slice and, later, Sierra Mist. Many people who grew up in the 1960s and 1970s still remember its bright green label and crisp taste.

4. Like Cola

In the early 1980s, the makers of 7 Up launched a caffeine-free cola called Like. The company had been running ads boasting that 7 Up “never had” caffeine, and Like was meant to bring that idea to cola drinkers. It was one of the first caffeine-free colas widely sold in America.

Like Cola caused a stir, and Coke and Pepsi quickly responded with their own caffeine-free versions. Once the big brands had caffeine-free colas, Like struggled to compete. It soon vanished from most American stores, and only soda history buffs remember it today.

5. Mr. Pibb

Coca-Cola introduced Mr. Pibb in 1972 to compete with Dr Pepper. It had a similar spicy, cherry-like flavor, and it became especially popular in the South. Many people who grew up drinking it remember it as their parents’ favorite alternative to cola.

In 2001, Coca-Cola reformulated it and renamed it Pibb Xtra, with a bolder taste. The original Mr. Pibb hung on in a few places for a while but eventually disappeared. Many fans say the new version doesn’t taste the same as the soda they grew up with.

6. Upper 10

Royal Crown, the company behind RC Cola, sold a lemon-lime soda called Upper 10. Its name was a playful nod to 7 Up, suggesting it was a few notches higher. It was sold in many parts of the country during the 1960s and 1970s, often in the same stores that carried RC Cola and Nehi.

Upper 10 eventually faded away as lemon-lime sodas from larger companies took over. Its retro bottles and cans are now collectibles. Many people only remember it because their parents kept a few in the basement refrigerator.

7. Wink

Wink was a grapefruit-flavored soda made by Canada Dry. It was tart, fizzy, and refreshing, and its ads called it “the sassy one.” It was popular in the 1960s and 1970s, especially in the Northeast, where grapefruit sodas had a strong following.

Wink faded from American shelves as other citrus drinks took over, though it lasted longer in Canada. Grapefruit soda fans today often turn to Squirt or Fresca instead. But for many boomers, Wink’s distinctive taste was one of a kind.

8. Hires Root Beer

Hires Root Beer is one of the oldest soda brands in America. Charles Hires, a Philadelphia pharmacist, began selling a root beer mix in the 1870s, and his root beer became famous after he promoted it around the time of the 1876 Centennial Exhibition. For generations, Hires was one of the best-known root beers in the country.

The brand changed hands many times over the decades, and it slowly lost shelf space to A&W, Barq’s, and Mug. Today, Hires is very hard to find, and many younger people have never heard of it. For older Americans, it’s a reminder of a time when root beer was a drugstore treat.

9. Pepsi Light

Pepsi Light was launched in the mid-1970s as a diet cola with a hint of lemon. It was one of the first diet sodas to add a fruit flavor, and it was marketed as a lighter, more refreshing drink. Its ads targeted health-conscious adults.

Pepsi Light never caught on the way Diet Pepsi did, and it disappeared from most American stores within a few years. Decades later, lemon-flavored diet colas came and went again. But Pepsi Light was one of the first to try the idea.

Why Sodas Disappear

Soda companies are always trying new products, and only a few succeed. When a drink’s sales drop, it can be dropped to make room for something new. Big companies also buy smaller brands and often let them fade away.

Changing tastes play a role, too. Diet sodas with saccharin gave way to those with aspartame and other sweeteners, and many old brands couldn’t keep up. Some of these drinks were part of the little rituals from the 80s and 90s that vanished with little notice.

The Collectors and the Memories

Many old soda bottles and cans are now collectibles, sold at antique shops and online. Some fans collect them for the nostalgia, while others love the retro designs. A bottle of Upper 10 or a can of Tab can bring back memories of family picnics and road trips.

The Coca-Cola Company’s own history pages tell the story of how the soda business has changed over the years. For boomers, those sodas belong with the other boomer childhood things that vanished over the years.

Which of these sodas did your parents drink, and which one do you wish you could taste again? Many readers say Tab is the one they still miss.