Coca-Cola Is Bringing Back This Iconic Soda (And We're Nostalgic)

Soda is older than you might think, beginning with the first artificially carbonated water in 1767. With over 250 years of history, countless soft drink brands have risen to success and fallen to obscurity, sometimes without even that first part. But even if a beverage may not seem popular, fandoms can keep the flame lit. Such is the case with one iconic brand making a comeback. The Coca-Cola Company is reviving Mr. Pibb, the spicy-sweet caramel cherry soda with a taste unlike almost anything else. Following a pattern of other Coca-Cola soda releases, the relaunched version of the drink will also be available in a Zero Sugar variety.

This comeback is the first time a soda named Mr. Pibb will be on the market since 2001, when the original drink (stylized as Mr. PiBB) was reformulated and rebranded to Pibb Xtra, with more intense notes of cherry and cinnamon than the original. Likewise, the new Mr. Pibb is not just a name change either: it also has 30% more caffeine than Pibb Xtra.

The story of Mr. Pibb actually begins with a competitor. People have long wondered, what are the flavors in Dr Pepper? The commercial success of this spicy cherry soda and its mysterious taste were enough to entice The Coca-Cola Company to eventually develop a rival in 1972. This new soda was originally called Peppo, but after a Dr Pepper lawsuit, Coke rebranded it to Mr. Pibb, joining the wide world of foods with Mr. or Mrs. in the name.

Coca-Cola likely thought that the soda's honorific of "Mr." would be similar enough in consumers' minds to the famous Dr Pepper without drawing legal scrutiny. And although Mr. Pibb never displaced the Doctor's popularity, it found a place of its own in the consumer landscape, even after the 2001 reworking. But by the 2020s, Pibb Xtra's availability became so limited that some fans erroneously thought it was discontinued.

Coca-Cola's relaunch of Mr. Pibb may not be a revival of the original 1972 formula, but this soda was already one of the 12 big food brands that changed names. This rebranding should harken back to the original in name if not flavor, stoking consumers' affinities for nostalgia — and revving them up with a big caffeine boost.