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Diet Coke or Diet Coca-Cola is a sugar-free soft drink produced and distributed by The Coca-Cola Company. It was introduced in the United States in July 1982, and was the first new brand since 1886 to use the Coca-Cola trademark. The product quickly overtook Tab in sales. In most non-English-speaking markets it is called Coca-Cola Light or Coke Light.
Initially sweetened with saccharin, Diet Coke was sweetened with aspartame as soon as it became available in the U.S., 1983; however, to save money, this was originally in a blend with saccharin. After Diet Rite cola advertised its 100 percent use of aspartame, and the manufacturer of NutraSweet (then, G.D. Searle & Company) warned that the NutraSweet trademark would not be made available to a blend of sweeteners, Coca-Cola switched the formula to 100 percent NutraSweet, later switching back and doing without the NutraSweet trademark. Diet Coke from fountain dispensers still contains some saccharin (to preserve sweetness).
In other countries, where cyclamates were not banned, as they were in the U.S. and the United Kingdom in 1970, Diet Coke or Coca-Cola Light may be sweetened with a blend containing cyclamates, aspartame, and acesulfame potassium. Fans of the drink often express a strong preference for the either the European formula or the British-American version. A version of this is now being sold in the United States and the United Kingdom as Coca-Cola Zero.
In 2005, under pressure from retailer Wal-Mart (which was impressed with the popularity of Splenda sweetener), the company released a new formulation called "Diet Coke sweetened with Splenda". Sucralose replaces aspartame in this version. Early sales reports for this version were not quite as strong as anticipated; however, Coca-Cola did little advertising for the brand, investing money and advertising in Coca-Cola Zero instead.
Diet Coke does not utilize a modified form of the Coca-Cola recipe but is instead an entirely different formula. The controversial New Coke, introduced in 1985, used a version of the Diet Coke recipe that contained sugar and had a slightly different balance of ingredients. In 2004 Coca-Cola introduced Coca-Cola C2, which it claims tastes much closer to Coca-Cola but contains half the carbohydrates.
When Tab was released in 1963, the Coca-Cola Company refused to use the Coca-Cola brandname, fearing that its flagship brand might suffer by being used on another product, the long-term viability of which was uncertain. Its rival Pepsi had no such qualms, and after the long-term success of its sugar-free brand Diet Pepsi, launched in 1964, became clear, Coca-Cola decided to launch a new sugar-free brand under the Coca-Cola name to compete with Diet Pepsi. With the well-known name, it could be marketed more extensively than the more anonymously dubbed Tab.
Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi have capitalized on the markets of people who require low calorie regimens, such as diabetics and people with other health conditions, athletes, and people who want to lose weight. In the UK, a 330 ml can of Diet Coke contains around 1.3 Calories (5 kilojoules) compared to 142 Calories (595 kJ) for a regular can of Coca-Cola.
According to the company's UK website as of 2004:
- Diet Coke is the #1 selling sugar-free pop in the world;
- Diet Coke is the third-largest brand at the company, and the fourth most-popular carbonated soft drink in the world;
- Diet Coke is sold in 149 countries; in 46 of them, where diet has undesirable connotations, it is known as Coca-Cola Light;
- The top five markets for the brand are the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, and Brazil.
- Some predict that Diet Coke will soon overtake Pepsi as the #2 soft drink in the USA because, over the last decade, Pepsi has lost market share (down to 11.2% in 2005) and Diet Coke has gained market share (up to 9.8% in 2005)
Brand portfolio
| Name | Launched | Discontinued | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diet Coke | 1982 | ||
| Caffeine-Free Diet Coke | 1983 | ||
| Diet Cherry Coke/Diet Coke Cherry | 1986 | Available in USA and United Kingdom. Discontinued in Australia and Israel. | |
| Diet Coke with Lemon | 2001 | 2005 (USA) | Available still in Austria, Germany, Spain and United Kingdom. |
| Diet Vanilla Coke/Diet Coke Vanilla | 2002 | 2006 | |
| Diet Coke with Lime | 2004 | ||
| Diet Raspberry Coke | June 1, 2005 | 2006 | Available in New Zealand. |
| Diet Coke sweetened with Splenda | 2005 | ||
| Coca-Cola Zero | 2005 | ||
| Diet Coke Black Cherry Vanilla | 2006 |
Advertising Slogans
- "Just for the taste of it!" USA, 1982
- "Taste it all!" USA, 1994
- "Light it up!" USA, 2006
Trivia
- It is possible to cause a sudden high-pressure release of carbon dioxide by inserting a Mentos into a container of Diet Coke.
External links
"Diet Coke"