Feb. 10 (UPI) — Soft drink giant Coca-Cola has introduced its first new flavor in more than a decade.
The new flavor, Orange Vanilla, in Coke and Coke Zero Sugar, will hit stores nationwide on Feb. 25, the company said in a statement Friday.
Coca-Cola began testing new Coke flavors a couple years ago after the successful relaunch of Coke Zero Sugar.
“The growth of Cherry Coke and Vanilla Coke — and their zero-calorie variants — has been really strong in recent years even with very limited marketing support,” Coca-Cola brand director Kate Carpenter said. “We knew we had an opportunity to give fans the variety they crave without sacrificing the Coca-Cola taste they love.”
Focus groups also tried flavors from Coke’s international market, including raspberry, lemon and ginger, which CNN reported are popular in Asia, but Orange Vanilla, available for a limited time in Canada, was the favorite.
“We wanted to bring back positive memories of carefree summer days,” Carpenter said. “That’s why we leaned into the orange-vanilla flavor combination — which is reminiscent of the creamy orange popsicles we grew up loving, but in a classically Coke way.”
Coca-Cola introduced flavors for its Diet Coke, including Blueberry Acai and Strawberry Guava, earlier this year, with other new flavors, including Ginger Lime, Feisty Cherry, Zesty Blood Orange and Twisted Mango. But this is the first new flavor for regular Coke since Vanilla Coke, which the company re-launched in 2007, since it was phased out after its initial launch in 2002.
