Starry is PepsiCo's lemon-lime soda, launched in January 2023 to replace Sierra Mist, a 24-year-old brand that held about 0.1 percent of the U.S. soda market, according to Beverage Digest data cited by CNN. Starry is caffeine-free, comes in regular and zero sugar, and targets Gen Z with the tagline "Starry hits different." It competes with Coca-Cola's Sprite, which held nearly 8 percent of U.S. soda at launch.
PepsiCo had already tried Teem, Slice, Storm and Sierra Mist against Sprite without breaking its lead, so Starry tests whether a brand built for one generation can do what four earlier brands did not. Originally published February 2023. Updated October 2026.
Why did PepsiCo replace Sierra Mist with Starry?
PepsiCo replaced Sierra Mist because the brand never gained ground on Sprite after more than two decades. Sierra Mist launched in 1999, and Beverage Digest data cited by Food Dive put its dollar share of carbonated soft drinks at 0.1 percent in October 2022, against 6.9 percent for Sprite.
Fixes had not worked. PepsiCo made a stevia version of Sierra Mist in 2014 and renamed it Mist Twst in 2016, then reverted to Sierra Mist by 2018, according to CNN and The Takeout. PepsiCo said its own research showed demand for lemon-lime soda had "never been greater," so it built a new brand instead of relaunching the old one a third time.
What is Starry and who is it for?
Starry is a caffeine-free lemon-lime soda aimed at Gen Z, sold in regular and zero-sugar versions. A PepsiCo spokesperson told CNN that Starry has higher citrus flavors that are more aromatic than Sierra Mist.
The target fits the category. Mintel research, cited by BeverageDaily in January 2023, found that Gen Z and Millennials are nearly twice as likely to drink lemon-lime soda as older consumers. PepsiCo backed the launch with TV, digital ads and TikTok, according to CNN, and Food Dive reported Starry on shelves at Kroger and Walmart. The Dieline reported the Starry name and design on October 13, 2022, three months before the January 2023 shelf launch.
How does Starry compare with Sierra Mist and Sprite?
Starry competes against a rival with a commanding lead and replaces a predecessor that barely registered. The table below shows the share figures published around the January 2023 launch.
| Brand | Owner | U.S. soda share before Starry | Source |
|---|
| Sierra Mist | PepsiCo | About 0.1 percent (October 2022) | Beverage Digest, via Food Dive |
| Sprite | Coca-Cola | 6.9 percent (October 2022), nearly 8 percent by CNN's January 2023 report | Beverage Digest, via Food Dive and CNN |
Has Starry worked?
Starry has not been measured against one agreed benchmark, so the answer depends on the source. Before the launch, Beverage Digest analyst John Sicher said on the publication's The Breeze podcast that Sprite likely held close to 80 percent of the lemon-lime category, and that winning five to eight share points would be "a very big success."
Published estimates since launch conflict. One industry blog reported in June 2025 that Starry captured a 5.3 percent share in its first year. A retail-data aggregator, Keychain, shows Starry's share of tracked lemon-lime sales falling from 4.75 percent in March 2024 to 2.52 percent in June 2026. The two measure different things, and EPR has not found audited brand-level data from PepsiCo or Beverage Digest, so treat any single Starry share figure with caution.
What can brand teams learn from Starry?
Brand teams can take three lessons from the Sierra Mist replacement. Each one comes with a mechanism and a source.
Retire a laggard instead of relaunching it a third time. Sierra Mist had been reformulated and renamed before PepsiCo ended it. Why it works: A share of 0.1 percent after a stevia reformulation and a rename showed that product changes had not shifted buyer behavior, according to the Beverage Digest figures above.
Build the new brand around one cohort and one flavor shift. Starry's name, cans and tagline are designed for Gen Z. Why it works: Mintel's finding that younger consumers drink lemon-lime soda at nearly twice the rate of older ones means the flavor already matched the audience the design targets.
Set a share target before launch and publish it internally. Sicher's five to eight points gave the category a public yardstick. Why it works: A stated threshold lets you judge a launch against evidence instead of against hope, which matters in a category where Sprite's lead is large. EPR's product launch playbook turns this into a step: set two or three measurable goals before any creative work starts.
For PepsiCo's wider brand and crisis record, see Pepsi PR: agencies, deals and crisis lessons and where Pepsi's digital strategy broke. For the rival's playbook, read Coca-Cola marketing strategy. For another consumer launch built on scarcity and creators, see how Apple, Stanley and Crocs launch products.
Related: Consumer Brands · Food and Beverage PR · Pepsi PR
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