View source for Diet Rite

{{Short description|Soft drink brand}}
{{refimprove|date=September 2012}}
{{Infobox Beverage
| name = Diet Rite
| type = [[Diet soda|Diet]] [[cola]]
| manufacturer = [[Keurig Dr Pepper]]
| origin = [[United States]]
| introduced = {{start date and age|1954}}
| discontinued = {{end date and age|2024}}
| related = [[Diet Coke]], [[Diet Pepsi]], and [[Tab (soft drink)|Tab]]
| logo = Diet Rite logo.png
| website = https://www.kdpproductfacts.com/product/a0e3h000003LJzLAAW/diet-rite-cola-12-fl-oz-us
}}

'''Diet Rite''' was a brand of no-calorie [[soft drinks]] that was originally distributed by the [[RC Cola]] company.

==History==
 
Diet Rite was introduced in 1954 and initially released as a [[dietetic]] product, but was introduced nationwide and marketed to the general public as a healthful beverage in 1962. The original formula was sweetened with [[cyclamate]] and [[saccharin]].<ref name="diet">DietRite Ad -  Charleston Gazette October 28, 1955 Page 33
</ref> After cyclamate was banned in 1969, it was removed from the product. [[NutraSweet]] brand [[aspartame]] was added upon its introduction to the market, and in 1987 the saccharin was replaced entirely with the complete elimination of [[caffeine]]. In the 1990s, several fruit-flavored varieties of Diet Rite were introduced. 

In 2000, the line was reformulated yet again, this time to replace aspartame with [[Splenda]] brand [[sucralose]] and Sunett brand [[acesulfame potassium]]. It became the first major diet soda in the United States to use neither aspartame nor saccharin as a sweetener. In 2005, "Pure Zero" was added to the name, and a cherry cola flavor was introduced in 2006.

The soda was discontinued in late 2024.

Today, it is owned by and distributed by [[Keurig Dr Pepper]].<ref>[http://www.drpeppersnapplegroup.com/brands/diet-rite/ Dr Pepper/Snapple Group - Diet Rite] Retrieved September 15, 2012.</ref>

==Advertising==
In the early 1960s [[The Paris Sisters]] sang a jingle for a Diet Rite television commercial, with the line "Stay thin with the best-tasting cola of all!".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Marchese|first1=Joe|title=See Those Girls: Ace Celebrates the Paris Sisters on New Anthology|url=https://theseconddisc.com/2016/03/03/see-girls-ace-celebrates-paris-sisters-new-anthology|access-date=June 22, 2022|work=The Second Disc}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{official|https://www.keurigdrpepper.com/content/keurig-brand-sites/kdp/en/our-brands.html}}

{{Dr Pepper Snapple brands}}
{{colas}}
{{Diet sodas}}

[[Category:American cola brands]]
[[Category:Diet drinks]]
[[Category:Keurig Dr Pepper brands]]
[[Category:Products introduced in 1958]]
[[Category:Products and services discontinued in 2024]]