Coca-Cola plans to expand its US soda product using a version of the cola of the same name, sweetened with sugar cane sugar. President Donald Trump previously announced that he had spoken about using “real cane sugar” for coke and its drinks. Coke first used high fructose corn syrup to sweeten the soda of the same name in the US in the 1980s.
Coca-Cola is planning to introduce a version of the cola of the same name, made from cane sugar, in the US this fall, the company announced Tuesday.
Coke has been sweetening sodas with the US name using high-fructose corn syrup in the US since the 1980s, but other markets like Mexico still use sugar. “Mexican Cola” has gained popularity in the last decade or so, as retailers like Costco and Target stock their drinks, following the bodega and restaurant leads for Hispanic customers.
In a news release that announced its second-quarter revenues on Tuesday, Coke said the new product offerings are “designed to complement the company’s strong core portfolio and offer more options beyond opportunities and preferences.”
The product announcement comes as President Donald Trump posted about true social on Wednesday, and he is talking to the company about using “real cane sugar” in US soda. Trump is a longtime fan of Diet Cola, using the artificial sweetener aspartame, with an oval-shaped office button that summons drinks.
“As we may have seen last week, we are grateful for the president’s enthusiasm for the Coca-Cola brand,” Cokes CEO James Quincy said Tuesday of the company’s revenue conference call before unveiling the new product.
Trump’s Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has voicedly opposed the use of high fructose corn syrup, denounced obesity and chronic illness. Studies do not suggest that sugar cane sugar is a healthier option than high-flortose corn syrup.
Long-standing tariff allocations on sugar imported from other countries make the goods more expensive than corn syrup, made in the US and supported by government subsidies for corn farmers.
According to Quincey, Cola has already sweetened some of its other US products, including lemonade, tea and vitamin water brands, with cane sugar.
“I think it’s a good indication that the industry, including ourselves, is trying a lot of different things, as we’re related to cane sugar,” he told analysts.
Before the announcement Tuesday, Cola had promoted the move to cut the sugar content in its portfolio. Customers like Switch. For example, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar is one of the company’s fastest growing drinks, with a volume growing at 9% last year.
Rival PepsiCo has added sugar cane sugar to the cola of the same name. On Monday, the company announced the upcoming launch of Pepsi Prebiotic Cola, which contains 3 grams of fiber and 5 grams of sugarcane sugar.
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