Slice Soft Drink Rises From The Dead To Take On La Croix

Maybe Slice was just ahead of its time. The soft drink made with 10 percent juice—just try getting that "we got the juice" jingle out of your head—never quite caught on in the '80s and '90s, and it eventually joined 7Up Gold and OK Soda in the defunct soft-drinks heap.

But Slice is back, baby! Well, sort of. Chicago Tribune reports that investor Mark Thomann—who's fond of buying up erstwhile brands—has purchased the rights to Slice and plans to relaunch it as a low-sugar, low-calorie fruit juice beverage. Perhaps the current era of fruit-flavored sparkling water domination sets the stage for Slice's true moment in the sun, Thomann speculates.

"We believe this will be a $100 million brand in the next five years," Thomann tells Tribune.

Unlike unsweetened sparkling water, Slice will be lightly sweetened with fruit juice, a sort of middle ground between La Croix and full-on soda. Consumers are increasingly ditching soda in favor of no-calorie or low-calorie drinks, leaving the playing field open for new carbonated beverages. However, we're still saying no to Crystal Pepsi's rebirth.