What Happened To SoBe Drinks, Anyway?

Back in my college days, my mornings followed a strict ritual: grab a Strawberry Daiquiri SoBe and three chocolate chip cookies before my first class. This was the breakfast of champions, and we all stood in line for the cookies holding our favorite flavored SoBe because, obviously, health is all about balance. If anyone asked, they’d say the SoBe was packed with vitamins, so it totally counteracted the cookies, and we all believed it, too.

Since then, SoBe drinks, once a staple of gas station coolers and dorm room mini-fridges have quietly disappeared from store shelves. If you walked into a gas station in the late ’90’s or early 2000’s, chances are you’d see a SoBe drinks display in all its colorful, lizard-embossed glory. These herbal-infused teas and fruit blends had a cult following, thanks to their bold flavors and “healthy” branding (as if a bright pink drink was ever a true health beverage). Once owned by an independent company, SoBe was eventually swallowed up by PepsiCo in 2000 and was then gradually phased out as competing sports and health drinks flooded the market in the late ’00s. While other nostalgic drinks from the early 2000s have made comebacks, SoBe has seemingly vanished without a trace. 

While SoBe technically still exists, it’s been quietly discontinued in most markets, leaving only a few lingering flavors in select stores. SoBe is as good as gone and PepsiCo never gave it a proper send-off.

SoBe, short for “South Beach Beverage Company,” burst onto the scene in 1996 and immediately stood out with its funky branding and fruity blends and flavors that were ahead of their time. From Black Tea 3G (a ginseng, guarana, and ginkgo biloba mix) to Lizard Lava and Piña Colada, SoBe’s lineup was weird, fun, and felt like the healthy alternative to soda. PepsiCo saw potential and bought the brand in 2000, adding it to its growing beverage empire alongside Mountain Dew and Tropicana.

At first, SoBe thrived. It had a stronghold in the non-carbonated beverage market, riding the wave of Y2K-era health trends. But, as the 2010s rolled in, the landscape changed. Vitaminwater, Bai, and other “functional drinks” soared in popularity. Energy drinks like Monster and Celsius also took a bite out of SoBe’s share. PepsiCo, rather than giving SoBe a revamp, started scaling back its distribution. By the mid-2010s, SoBe flavors started disappearing, and by 2023, the brand was nearly extinct in most stores.

Technically, SoBe isn’t dead, just on life support and in dire condition. Some flavors, like SoBe Elixir, are still listed on PepsiCo’s website, but good luck actually finding them in stores. The brand’s slow decline wasn’t just about competition, it was about neglect. PepsiCo never heavily marketed SoBe after the initial acquisition, instead shifting focus to other similar brands with wider appeal.

This isn’t the first time PepsiCo has quietly let a drink disappear (RIP Sierra Mist) — maybe they should bring SoBe back rather than experiment with gingerbread-flavored Pepsi, a drink nobody asked for. SoBe’s disappearance stings for those of us who relied on it for our daily hydration (and, in some cases, as an excuse for a sugar-heavy college breakfast). While nostalgic brands often make comebacks, SoBe’s return seems unlikely, unless, of course, Pepsi finally gives it the reboot it deserves.