The real reason for New Coke?

[Dennis S]

To break off from this thread:

http://forums.macresource.com/read.php?1...msg-636245

I believe New Coke was made to prevent to gains Pepsi was making with the Coke Challenge or, whatever it was called, taste test. I have read that after one or two sips, a sweeter product tastes better (at first.) Pepsi had more sugar than Coke and were winning. So, Coke made a sweeter New Coke to slow down Pepsi's gains. Off course, it tasted terrible after you got past the first couple of sips, but it did slow down Pepsi.

Anyone buy this?

[Doc]

No.

High-fructose corn syrup was cheaper than high-sucrose syrup and Coke had lost significant market share to more profitable sodas.

New leadership at Coke decided that a cheaper formula combined with a new marketing blitz was just the thing to get their marketshare back up... and they were right. Originally, they were going to offer both formulas side-by-side, but bottlers had losses from previous years to make up and couldn't afford to make both so they forced management to decide between the two formulas.

Also, at the time, we held our own blind taste tests and Pepsi beat both Coke and New Coke consistently.

[GGD]

Here's what Snopes says about the New Coke failure, and it matches what I recall from that time. New Coke had the taste of the recently introduced and very successful Diet Coke without the "diet".

http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/newcoke.asp

[ztirffritz]

I remember that 'New' Coke tasted like the southern end of a north-bound donkey.

[MikeF]

Yeah, but our local Costco has Mexican Coke in bottles with real sugar (at least last Friday)...

[ztirffritz]

I bought some of those at Costco. They are so good that I don't drink them. I don't want to squander them.

[mikeylikesit]

At about a buck per 8/10 oz bottle you should save them until the price goes up.