Coca-Cola Spiced was introduced with great fanfare early this year as “the first new permanent flavor in the Coke lineup in three years.” “Permanent” apparently is about seven months.
The soda blended spice notes with a hint of raspberry for a drink the company hoped would be embraced by younger consumers. Apparently it was not, as the company responded to queries on social media platform X this week with the explanation “We have made the decision to remove Coca-Cola Spiced from retail stores by the end of 2024.”
Introduced this February, Spiced came in both a regular calorie version and a Zero Sugar. No immediate replacement was named but marketers promised an exciting new flavor early next year.
The innovation pipeline is far from empty. Coca Cola Creations has come out with a number of limited-edition flavors, the current one being Coca‑Cola Oreo Zero Sugar and Oreo Coca‑Cola Sandwich Cookie (see how they alternated the names?) in August. A constant flow of LTEs is promised. Earlier ones included Cherry-Vanilla, Starlight and Dreamworld.
About the Author
Dave Fusaro
Editor in Chief
Dave Fusaro has served as editor in chief of Food Processing magazine since 2003. Dave has 30 years experience in food & beverage industry journalism and has won several national ASBPE writing awards for his Food Processing stories. Dave has been interviewed on CNN, quoted in national newspapers and he authored a 200-page market research report on the milk industry. Formerly an award-winning newspaper reporter who specialized in business writing, he holds a BA in journalism from Marquette University. Prior to joining Food Processing, Dave was Editor-In-Chief of Dairy Foods and was Managing Editor of Prepared Foods.