Popular drinks that were discontinued in SA
Do you remember some of these popular drinks that were discontinued?
South Africa has seen many drinks and snacks come and go from local shelves.
Some items might not even be remembered, while others are dearly missed and often come up in conversations and online debates.
In a recent clip, South African social media content creator Jandre de Beer reminded the nation of some of the most loved drinks that are no longer on South African shelves.
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"Drinks South Africans loved, but you don't see on shelves anymore," De Beer wrote on TikTok.
The content creator then went on to list five popular drinks that are no longer available in South Africa.
Watch here:
@jandre_db Drinks South Africans loved, but you don't see on shelves anymore. If you grew up on corner-shop snacks, wait for number 1. Some were in every fridge, some were your lunchbox flex. Tell me which one you miss most. Number 5, gone the longest, is Bibo. Coke launched those fruity squeeze pouches back in 1998. Kids took them to school every day, then they got discontinued in 2004. Number 4 is Fresca. It was that grapefruit-style soda that showed up in the early 90s. They ran those "Nothing tastes like Fresca" ads everywhere, then it just disappeared. Number 3 is Coca-Cola Life. The one with the green label that used sugar plus stevia. Coca-Cola killed it in 2020 when they were cutting weaker brands. Number 2 is TaB. For years, it was the caffeine-free diet cola so many people swore by. Coca-Cola ended it in South Africa by the end of 2022. And in first place, the most recent goodbye... Nestlé South Africa stopped making the chocolate and strawberry powders on 21 August 2023. You can still spot it sometimes because some stores bring in imported stock. That's Nesquik.
♬ original sound - Jandre de Beer
Five popular drinks that were discontinued in SA
5. Bibo
Launched by Coca-Cola in 1998, Bibo was a fruity juice drink aimed at children and was widely popular in school lunchboxes.
It was discontinued in 2004 as Coca-Cola phased out smaller regional brands.
4. Fresca
First introduced in 1966, Fresca gained renewed popularity in South Africa during the early 1990s with its iconic "Nothing tastes like Fresca" advertisements.
While it is still sold in some countries, it quietly disappeared from several local markets.
3. Coca-Cola Life
Coca-Cola Life debuted in 2013 as a lower-calorie Coke sweetened with sugar and stevia.
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Poor sales led to its global discontinuation in 2020 during Coca-Cola’s brand cuts.
2. TaB
Introduced in 1963, TaB became one of the earliest diet colas and built a loyal following over decades.
Coca-Cola officially discontinued it worldwide in 2020.
1. Nesquik (South Africa)
In the most recent goodbye, Nesquik chocolate and strawberry powders stopped local production in South Africa on 21 August 2023 due to declining demand.
Imported stock still appears occasionally in some stores.
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