Coke Zero to be phased out and replaced with Coke No Sugar

On June 16, Coca-Cola Amatil will launch their new zero-sugar product in Australia and New Zealand. The new beverage, Coke No Sugar, is being trialled in these two countries as well as Mexico ahead of its US release. With the rise of healthy eating, the soft drink giant has released several low-calorie alternatives to its first and main product, Coca-Cola which accounts for 70% of the company’s sales in Australia.

Coke No Sugar will become the fourth low-kilojoule drink offered by Coca-Cola in Australia with the others being Diet Coke (established in 1982), Coke Zero (released in 2006), and Coke Life which was released in 2015 and rebranded as Coke with Stevia this year. Coke Life, which is sweetened with stevia and sugar cane, failed miserably on the Australian market last year. This was mostly due to the flavour difference between the product and the original Coca-Cola, which has remained popular for over 130 years.

However, Coke No Sugar is said to perform better in terms of taste and fidelity to the sugar-filled original. At its pre-launch, President of Coca-Cola Australia Roberto Mercadé stated: “We think it’s the closest we’ve ever come to the classic taste of Coca-Cola”.

Additionally, the company has expressed their intention to eliminate Coke Zero from the roster. Both Coke Zero and Coke No Sugar use the artificial sweetener aspartame, which achieves a flavour closer to their primary product. Mercadé and Lisa Winn, the marketing director of Coca-Cola South Pacific, have both stated that if sales of Coke Zero decline, it will be taken off the market while Coke No Sugar will remain. Winn said that Coke Zero “continues to perform well and grow but we as a company are always innovating.”

“It is our intention to phase out Coke Zero over time but we will let consumers decide,” Winn continued.

Unlike the black-labelled Coke Zero, bottles and cans of Coke No Sugar use the signature red and white colours of Coca-Cola. To help launch the new product, Coke No Sugar will be rolled out as a free sample to around two million Australians and vouchers will be made available through the popular music app Shazam.