Coke rolls the dice, changes formula on Coca-Cola Zero Sugar

The soda giant has announced plans to change the formula of Coca-Cola Zero Sugar in an effort to get it to taste more like the company’s flagship drink. The revised product will begin appearing in stores this month.

The new Coke Zero Sugar doesn’t contain new ingredients, but officials say the tweaks will make the drink taste more like Coke’s classic flavor. The company also plans to repackage the drink in a way that will also make Coke’s prominent logo more visible.

Coca-Cola shied away from new flavors and formula changes for a long time after its ill-fated 1985 attempt to change the flavor of Coke. In 2019, however, it unveiled its first new flavor in over a decade, introducing Orange Vanilla Coke and Orange Vanilla Coke Zero Sugar.

The push for those drinks was to ensure the Coke brand didn’t begin to feel stale among consumers. (Coke has also introduced an alcoholic drink in Japan in the past year and has considered making a marijuana-infused drink as it diversifies its offerings.)

The tweak to Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, though, is about appealing to a trending consumer influence: health. The drink, formerly known as Coca-Cola Zero, lets people enjoy colas without the added sugar and has grown to capture 7.9% of the U.S. carbonated cola market, per AdWeek, quoting data from Euromonitor International.

The brand has faced increased competition lately from Pepsi Zero Sugar.