Coke Zero is Changing its Formula and I’m Nervous
How does the famous saying go? "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"? Well, I read this week Coke Zero is getting a "makeover" and although I'm totally going to try it, I start to panic and my mind goes all the way back to the year 1985.
Ah 1985, the year Nintendo arrived in America, Michael Jordan was named NBA Rookie of Year, I sat in the very front row at the Mall Cinema in Hartford and watched The Goonies, and Coca-Cola decided it was time to update its formula. And what did they call it? New Coke.
After three months, New Coke had all but disappeared from store shelves in what is considered the worst marketing blunder/decision in history. So how was the formula different? Coke decided it might try to goose Pepsi by making the pop sweeter, which is what Pepsi is notorious for, its sweetness. What is odd is that certain parts of the country didn't mind if New Coke was a little sweeter, but you know here in Kentucky and in the south, that wasn't going to fly.
Look, I don't mind a sweeter pop now and then, but Classic Coke, that's my nectar, my home base. (Though full disclosure, I drank RC a lot growing up and while it's a tad sweeter than Coke, it just hits different, right?) One of my fondest memories is visiting my Mamaw and Papaw Grant and they would always have RC in the fridge.
However, in the past ten years or so, I've tried to cut back on my pop intake, you all know this. When Coke Zero came along, I was leery but I was willing to give it a chance and it's good, it's better when it's ice cold. And I know, zero calories means there are artificial sweeteners involved, but I take that chance, just not all the time.
So what is going on with Coke Zero's makeover? The caveat for me, they are trying to make it taste more like Classic Coke. I'm nervous, but what about you?