When a manufacturer discontinues a product, it knows it’s running the risk of alienating some customers. When Coca-Cola killed, TaB, its first diet cola, the chain angered a dedicated fanbase that has been protesting the loss since it happened.
“Coca-Cola’s first diet cola. “Discontinued in 2020 after 57 years, but never forgotten. We’re the SaveTaBSoda Committee — fans on a mission to save TaB from the history books and convince Coca-Cola to bring it back,” the group posted on its website.
That’s an extreme example, but companies have responded to angry customers and brought back discontinued items.
The most famous example, would be Coca-Cola bringing back “Classic Coke,” after consumers rejected “New” Coke. And, while many wonder if that was actually a marketing ploy, the company insists it was a marketing mistake, that it corrected when consumers revolted.
Now, PepsiCo has quietly returned a discontinued product under its Mountain Dew brand to shelves, even though it’s still hard to find, and it remains unclear whether a full comeback is planned.
Mountain Dew Real Sugar returns
Mountain Dew Real Sugar has a deep history. It has also been marketed as “Mountain Dew Throwback.”
“Throwback first appeared on shelves in April 2009 with a retro-reincarnation of Mountain Dew’s original branding. In contrast to many of Mountain Dew’s more adventurous flavor experiments, Throwback was a citrus flavor close to the original Mountain Dew. However, it notably replaced the typical high fructose corn syrup with real sugar made from sugar cane or sugar beets,” according to Tasting Table.
The product was popular as it fit into the real sugar versus high-fructose corn syrup debate, but interest waned and PepsiCo quietly killed it.
“Mountain Dew eventually rebranded Throwback as Mountain Dew Real Sugar in November 2019, though this didn’t last very long. Despite limited regional availability in 2020, this flavor was finally discontinued as of February 2024,” according to the food website.
PepsiCo never issues press releases when it discontinues a product, but Mountain Dew Real Sugar is no longer listed on the Mountain Dew product page.
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The product, however, has been popping up in select retailers in 12-ounce glass bottles.
“Mountain Dew with Real Sugar just got a brand new look,” the Sodaseekers Instagram page reported. “Select retailers, including @kcsodaco in Kansas City, Missouri.”
In addition to the Sodaseekers report, which references new inventory, Amazon, eBay, and specialty shops, including Concord Market have legacy or imported versions of Mountain Dew Real Sugar for sale.
WisPak, a PepsiCo bottler in the Wisconsin area, distributes Mountain Dew Real Sugar in tourist-heavy areas including the Wisconsin Dells.
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Mountain Dew Real Sugar fits a trend
President Donald Trump, a noted Diet Coke enthusiast, has taken up the mantle for full sugar sodas. That led to Coca-Cola bringing back what’s often known as Mexican Coke, because it has been steadily sold that way in Mexico, or Passover Coke, because some cans are formulated with real sugar each year to be Kosher for the Jewish holiday.
“Considering the U.S. demand for Mexican Coke alone, Coca-Cola may actually have a market” for the new product, William Grand, a retail expert who is the CEO of NutriFusion, told MarketWatch.
Steve Zagor, a food-industry consultant who also teaches at Columbia University, thinks that their might be a market for real sugar sodas.
He said that offering a cane sugar-based version allows Coca-Cola to see if there’s demand for such a product, with the idea it could expand the idea to other beverages in its lineup.
“It’s a great way to put your toe in the water,” he told Marketwatch.
And, while Trump’s Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has also pushed for real sugar over high-fructose corn syrup, dietitian’s aren’t in alignment with the administration.
“Despite minor differences in chemical structure and metabolism, both cane sugar and high-fructose corn syrup have similar health impacts when consumed in excess, especially in the form of sugar-sweetened beverages like soda,” Avery Zenker, a registered dietitian, told CBS News.
Cane sugar, Zenker explained, is nearly 100% sucrose, which consists of approximately 50% glucose and 50% fructose — two different forms of sugars.
It’s “essentially the same as table sugar,” she said.
The most common form of high-fructose corn syrup contains 55% fructose and 45% glucose.
Coca-Cola’s former CEO James Quincey explained the decision to bring back a cane sugar version of the soda during the chain’s second-quarter 2025 earnings call.
“And as part of our ongoing innovation agenda, this fall in the United States, we plan to expand our trademark Coca-Cola product range with U.S. cane sugar to reflect consumer interest in differentiated experiences,” he said.
Coca-Cola with cane sugar remains available, but only in select markets, according to Scripps News.
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