Fruitopia Was a Staple '90s Beverage — What Happened to It?

The recent bout of nostalgia has brought back many iconic pieces from our childhoods. More popular shows and movies from the '90s and early 2000s are being rebooted, including Gossip Girl, iCarly, and Spy Kids, but those haven't been the only things people have been itching to bring back from their childhood memories.

One piece of the past many have wished to bring back is the once-popular beverage, Fruitopia.

The fruity drink found popularity in the mid-1990s, only to disappear within a decade. What happened to Fruitopia — and can you still buy it anywhere?

The sugary fruit drink made its way onto the beverage scene in 1994 as Coca-Cola's attempt to compete with the quickly growing popularity of Snapple iced teas. It quickly rose to fame, thanks in part due to its psychedelic advertising and variety of flavors.

Upon launch, the brand offered 10 different flavors, including Strawberry Passion Awareness, The Grape Beyond, Tangerine Wavelength, Citrus Consciousness, Fruit Integration, Lemonade Love & Hope, Pink Lemonade Euphoria, Raspberry Psychic Lemonade, Beachside Blast, and Strawberry Kiwi Ruckus.

The offerings grew to include other flavors, like Born Raspberry, Lemon Berry Intuition, Curious Mango, and Peaceable Peach a couple of years after its launch.

The drink's popularity was aided by its media attention in the mid-1990s, even being mentioned during an episode of The Simpsons. Fruitopia was offered in various McDonald's locations and in some Coca-Cola vending machines, making it a staple at many locations.

But unfortunately, the fame of Fruitopia was not meant to last. In less than 10 years after its launch, the brand saw a decrease in popularity, leading to insufficient sales.

By 2003, the brand had almost completely ceased to exist in the U.S., though one could still find the fruity juice drink at some McDonald's locations.

Coca-Cola ultimately decided to phase the brand out due in large part to its lack of sales. Many of the popular flavors were eventually absorbed by Minute Maid. PepsiCo's competitor, Fruit Works, faced a similar fate, being absorbed by Tropicana.

While the drink is no longer offered in the U.S., you can still buy it in Canada and Australia. The sugary beverage performed better in these countries, leading to its continued offering.

There was a petition started in 2019 to bring Fruitopia back that received a solid 500 signatures, though not enough to bring the brand back — despite the ongoing wave of nostalgia bringing many other pieces of the '90s back.

"While I was too young to remember the day Coca-Cola stopped bottling Fruitopia, the day McDonald's stopped providing this sweet nectar is still fresh in my mind," the petition reads. "We were never given a warning that Fruitopia would be discontinued in McDonald's around America, so I personally was never given a chance to say goodbye to this [Strawberry] Passion Deliciousness, and I want to be given that opportunity once more."