7UP vs. Sprite

7 UP vs. Sprite – The Lemon-Lime Battle

I know a lot of people who tell me that 7 UP tastes the same as Sprite. They swear they both taste essentially the same. I, however, do not agree.

7 UP, once the largest player on the block when it comes to lemon-lime soft drinks (7 UP, introduced in 1929, competed against 600 lemon-lime soft drinks on the market at that time and beat them all) has been largely eclipsed by Sprite since around 1980. Much of that is due to Sprite’s being forced on the public by Coca Cola corp. When I say forced, I mean that literally. Back before the 1980’s most bottlers were distributing 7 UP until Coke forced their hand and demanded that they carry Sprite instead of 7 UP. This began the end of 7 UP’s reign as the undisputed king of the lemon-lime soft drink set. 7 UP is still very much alive and well, and is distributed by Dr. Pepper Corp. here in the U.S., and by Pepsi Co. in the rest of the world.

A lot of Sprite’s popularity comes from the fact that they are distributed so widely now, part comes from a series of brilliant marketing strategies and advertising campaigns. Sprite has at different times appealed to a large teen to young adult demographic and has also appealed to a smaller but more affluent adult demographic. The beauty of marketing a soft drink is the fact it costs so little that influencing a demographic such as teens to buy it is great; all they need is pocket change.

However, let’s get back to the subject of taste. Personally I don’t care for the taste of Sprite nearly as much as I do the taste of 7 UP. Now I know for a fact, and I state this to be fair, some of that comes from the fact that I grew up with 7 UP being the primary lemon-lime drink of my generation. You couldn’t always get a Sprite in a store, where you could always find a 7 UP. But beyond that, 7 UP doesn’t taste as “sweet” to me. Sprite has a very sweet taste that seems to cling to my palate. It’s kind of like the Coke/Pepsi argument that has been going on forever. (Ironic since it’s exactly the opposite with Coke and Pepsi – Pepsi is sweeter than Coke) For whatever reason, 7 UP tastes cleaner to me, less cloying and sweet. Unfortunately, the world has definitely turned, for now it is 7 UP that is not always found in the stores, and one can always find a Sprite.