Coca-Cola Zero Coming in June

Coke is announcing the launch of yet another zero calorie cola, this one dubbed “Coca-Cola Zero.”

Coke to launch new no-calorie soda (AP)

The Coca-Cola Co. said Monday it will launch a no-calorie version of its trademark soft drink called Coca-Cola Zero in the United States in June. The drink will be sweetened partly with a blend of aspartame and acesulfame potassium. Aspartame is a key ingredient in Diet Coke, but a spokesman for the Atlanta-based company said Coca-Cola Zero will have a unique taste.

The new drink will have its own marketing campaign. With the rollout of Coca-Cola Zero, there will be a half-dozen different versions of trademark Coca-Cola on the market. There are also several different varieties of Diet Coke, including the recently announced rollout of Diet Coke sweetened with Splenda.

Interesting. It’s unclear why Coke Zero will be different from Diet Coke or Coke C2. Still, the past would seem to indicate that people will snap this up. My guess is that I’ll be sticking with Diet Vanilla Coke for the time being.

FILED UNDER: Economics and Business, Popular Culture,
James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. Boyd says:

    I was wondering who the other person was that was buying the Diet Vanilla Coke ’round these parts.

  2. jen says:

    Boyd, I think everyone drinks Vanilla Diet Coke. It sells out quickly here in Northern Virginia.

    And James, I have you to thank for my addiction to it. 😉

  3. dw says:

    Vanilla Diet Coke? I’ve never seen anyone here in Seattle buy it at all. I didn’t even know there was a Diet Vanilla Coke.

    Diet Coke With Lime, though, flies off the shelves up here. I know some food service people who say that DCwL sells as well as DC in their shops. (Diet Coke With Lemon, OTOH, barely sells.)

    After years of de-regionalization, it’s kinda nice to know that we’re seeing some regional tastes come back, even if it’s just Coke flavors.

  4. Ol' BC says:

    I just hope it’s not another “New” Coke fiasco. Coke has “the taste”, don’t try to change it again. However, Diet Vanilla rocks.

  5. James Joyner says:

    I have several cases of Diet Vanilla Coke, as well as some Diet Cherry and Diet Lime in the garage just in case. (Actually, it was on sale.) I like them all, although most folks in these parts seem less than enthusiastic with Diet Lime. I even like Diet Lemon, although it’s my least favorite of the bunch save for Plain Diet Coke and the much hated Caffeine Free Diet Coke.

  6. sammler says:

    I don’t see how anyone can drink Diet Coke With Vanilla. It tastes like sweetened latex paint. I admit to liking With Lime, despite its overtones of Off (TM).

  7. Anderson says:

    Next: Zen Coke, an empty can sold for full retail price.

  8. Anderson says:

    Next: Zen Coke, an empty can sold for full retail price.

  9. Anderson says:

    Oops, it wasn’t that funny the first time.

  10. If Coke Zero tastes like Coke Classic, that would be cool.

    Otherwise, who cares.

  11. Mark Hasty says:

    You forgot TaB. They still make TaB. And it tastes better than Diet Coke.

  12. Ric Locke says:

    A genuine Marxist would be exultant (as opposed to the Stalinist f*weasels we have now.) The Marxist equivalent of the Rapture is the Crisis of Capitalism, and one of the symptoms of the Crisis is that capitalists no longer have anything to sell, so they start ringing irrelevant changes and “marketing” (anachronistic word) them to keep the so-called “free market” going. This sort of thing is evidence that the Marxist Millenium is at hand.

    Regards,
    Ric