Coca-Cola has seemingly wanted to push Diet Coke aside in favor of Coke Zero Sugar, but customers have not allowed that to happen.
Some audience prefer Coke Zero, but at least in the United States, that’s still a third-tier brand behind, Coke and Diet Coke. This isn’t Diet Coke coming in a replacing TaB because it simply tasted better (which the committee trying to bring the drink back would argue with), it’s a niche product helping Coca-Cola (KO) , but not supplanting Diet Coke’s place in the cola ecosystem.
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In 2024, Diet Coke was a top-ten soft drink brand globally;
The 2024 data shows that Coca-Cola will secure the value of the world’s top soft drink brands, with $98,716 million, followed by Red Bull ($22,150 million).Those were followed by:3. Nongfu Spring ($19,968 million) 4. Pepsi ($17,689 million) 5. Nespresso ($11,439 million)6. Nescafe ($10,457 million), 7. Yill ($10,208 million)8. Monster ($8,450 million)9. Diet Coke ($7,737 million) 10. Fanta ($7,624 million) 11. Sprite ($6,857 million)
Those are not all drinks familiar to Americans, but Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Sprite, and Fanta are all owned by Coca-Cola. Diet Coke has ridden some varying waves of popularity, but it has seen its popularity and visibility increase with newly-minted rivals Elon Musk and Donald Trump both being big fans.
TaB is no longer made, but tens of thousands of people have signed a petition to bring it back.
Image source: Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola bring back classic Diet Coke flavor
Diet Coke has traditionally been sold in a variety of flavors. In many ways, it’s like a classic soda fountain beverage where you can choose from any flavor on offer.
In recent years, the company has experimented with flavors including. Lime, Vanilla, “Life,” Ginger Lime, and Twisted Mango. The company also still offers Coke Zero, which is different, according to the Coca-Cola website.
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Coke is clear that the key difference is the “the taste.”
“Both drinks are sugar free and calorie free. Coca‑Cola Zero Sugar looks and tastes more like Coca‑Cola Original Taste, while Diet Coke has a distinct lighter taste. Did you know? Diet Coke launched in 1982, followed by Coca‑Cola Zero in 2005, and then renamed Coca‑Cola Zero Sugar in 2016,” the company posted.
Now, Coca-Cola has decided to bring back the original Diet Coke spinoff flavor.
“I am way too excited for this one — Diet Cherry Coke is returning for a limited time with retro packaging!It’s been years since the OG Diet Cherry Coke has been out so I’m really looking forward to getting it again,” shared the popular Snackolator Instagram page. “This does not appear to be an exclusive release, but I’ll update as it arrives on store shelves.”
Coca-Cola might go even more healthy
While people openly debate the health merits of Diet Coke, most agree that it’s a better choice than Coke, or another full-caloried soda. Some sodas, however, have been adding probiotics, prebiotics, and other ostensibly healthy ingredient.
Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey was asked about the so-called “wellness and functional” soda market during his company’s first-quarter earnings call.
“We’re going to follow the consumer. And I think there are a couple of pieces to that. One is, what do they really want and how are they really behaving in terms of where they want to spend their money. And second piece that goes with that is, do they want product combinations,” he shared.
Quincey made it clear that consumers would dictate what Coca-Cola will do,
“In other words, whatever that — whatever the ingredient on your list is, do they want to take it through their beverage or do they want it a different way?” he added.
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He does not think that consumers will prefer certain drinks even if they are better for them.
“At the end of the day, they generally want their beverages to taste good and adding certain ingredients affects the taste. So taste is in my mind still going to remain primary, but to the extent there are consumers that were willing to trade taste for ingredients, absolutely, we will follow that trend. You can go back and look in history,” he shared.
