Seeking Slice of healthy drinks market

Slice, a once-popular soft drink from the 1990s, faded into obscurity for years before being relegated to the trademark trash heap — discontinued and, for all practical purposes, dead.

That’s where Mark Thomann, a Chicago entrepreneur with a knack for reclaiming old brands, hunts for treasure.

“People remember the brand, but they don’t always remember the specifics,” Thomann said. “It’s sort of like clay that you can mold how you want.”

Dormitus Brands and Spiral Sun Ventures — two separate entities run by Thomann — are partnering to relaunch Slice later this year after acquiring the brand’s trademark rights, formerly owned by PepsiCo. The new Slice will be a lower-sugar, lowercalorie beverage sweetened only with real — possibly organic — fruit juice, Thomann said. The product’s still being developed, but the plan is to distribute it nationally through regional retailers in six months or so.

The amount of carbonated soft drinks sold in the U.S. has declined for more than a decade, as consumers have eschewed sugary drinks for healthier alternatives.

“If we were just relaunching it the way it was before, I don’t think it would be successful . ... We believe this will be a $100 million brand in the next five years,” Thomann said.

Flavors may include grapefruit, berry and lemon-lime, said Glenn Backus, managing partner of Revolution Brands, which is working on the project. It’s too early to say how many calories and grams of sugars the new Slice will have, but it will be healthier than a normal soda, he said.