July 26 (UPI) — Twelve years after its introduction, Coca-Cola Zero is saying goodbye to make way for a new product the company said Wednesday tastes more like original Coke.
Coca-Cola plans to put Coca-Cola Zero Sugar on the shelves in August. Like its predecessor, it has no calories or sugar, but the company said it has been reformulated to taste more like its flagship product, traditional Coca-Cola.
“We’ve used our in-house innovation capabilities to make the great taste of Coke Zero even better and a lot like a Coke. To achieve this, we optimized the unique blend of flavors that gave Coke Zero its real Coca-Cola taste in the new and improved Coca-Cola Zero Sugar recipe. It’s delicious, refreshing and our best-tasting zero-sugar Coca-Cola yet,” said Stuart Kronauge, business unit president, USA Operations and senior vice president, Marketing, Coca-Cola North America.
The packaging of the new product also is meant to more closely resemble original Coke, prominently featuring the brand’s bright, red color.
Earlier Wednesday, Coca-Cola announced second-quarter earnings topping analysts’ expectations. The company reported 59 cents earnings per share and $9.7 billion in revenue.
Coca-Cola’s net income fell to $1.37 billion in the second quarter compared to $3.45 billion one year earlier.
President and CEO James Quincey said, “Our second-quarter results demonstrate continued progress against the strategic priorities we have laid out to accelerate the transformation of our business into a total beverage company with balanced growth across a consumer-centric portfolio.”
