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October 1, 2024
Why Did Coca-Cola Give Up on Spiced So Quickly?
Coca-Cola announced plans to discontinue a new flavor, Coca-Cola Spiced, just seven months after its debut.
The planned phase-out was particularly a surprise because Spiced marked the brand’s first described “permanent” alternative launch to classic Coke in the U.S. in three years.
“We’re always looking at what our customers like and adjusting our range of products,” Coke said in a media statement. “As part of this strategy, we’re planning to phase out Coca-Cola Spiced to introduce an exciting new flavor in 2025.”
Launched at a livestream media event in New York and with a splashy ad campaign in February, Coke described Spiced — aimed at younger consumers — as having a “classic taste of Coca-Cola with refreshing bursts of raspberry and a curated blend of warm spiced flavors.”
One challenge, assumed by several reports, was the name, with critics of the flavor arguing that the “spice” was minimal and that the artificial raspberry flavor was overwhelming. At the time of the drink’s launch, Coke indicated that Spiced was a direct response to consumers showing strong interest in spice in their beverages and raspberry soft drinks.
A Reddit review around the time of Spiced’s launch ran negative, with many indicating the flavor was too sweet. One commenter wrote, “Reminds me of a cherry cough drop. Did not enjoy.”
Spiced was also developed in just seven weeks, significantly less than the year it typically takes Coke to create a new beverage. Shakir Moin, president of marketing at Coca-Cola North America, told the Associated Press in February, “Consumers are moving faster. The market is moving forward faster. We’ve got to be faster than the speed of the market.”
Coke has released 11 limited-edition flavors since its Creations platform, also aimed at younger consumers, debuted in 2022. Twists on its regular and diet formulas included some ambiguously flavored limited-time Cokes, including “Dreamworld,” “Starlight” and “Byte,” as well as a new Oreo-flavor soda and marshmallow-tinted cola in partnership with Swedish DJ Marshmello.
Duane Sanford, editor of Beverage Digest, told CNN that Spiced “might have been lost in the shuffle” of those limited-time offerings.
Spiced’s quick exit could also reflect Coca-Cola’s quicker reassessment of its portfolio in recent years. In addition to Spiced, Coke confirmed on social media that it was ending production of Coke Cherry Vanilla and Diet Coke with Splenda. Coke said it discontinued Cherry Vanilla, which launched in 2020, “due to consumers’ taste preferences and lifestyles constantly changing. As a Total Beverage Company, we are always searching for ways to evolve our product portfolio to bring consumers the beverages they want.”
In 2020, Coke eliminated about 200 of its beverage brands, including Tab, Zico, and Odwalla, to focus on brands with stronger growth potential.
Finally, Coke faces an increasingly crowded beverage market as younger drinkers shift their preferences away from sugary sodas to sparkling waters, hydration, and other healthier alternatives. Newer competition has arrived from entrants including Olipop, Poppi, and Culture Pop. Coke itself has found its strongest growth in Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, its Topo Chico water line, and BodyArmor while recently entering the alcohol category with Topo Chico Hard Seltzer.
Discussion Questions
Why do you think Coke so abruptly pulled the plug on Coca-Cola Spiced?
What missteps and related lessons learned do you see in the development and rollout of Spiced?
Poll
Loading …BrainTrust
Melissa Minkow
Director, Retail Strategy, CI&T
Dick Seesel
Principal, Retailing In Focus LLC
David Biernbaum
Founder & President, David Biernbaum & Associates LLC
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The soda market is soft, and Coke desperately needs to build its market share and excitement around the brand. Spiced was an attempt to do that by tapping into the consumer desire for unusual and bold flavors. Unfortunately, it fell flat because the taste was not what it said on the tin: having tried it, the flavor was weirdly fruity with no spicy kick at all. The whole thing came across as gimmicky and was not really designed with the consumer in mind.
It did not take Coke long to realize that “spice” was a terrible idea. My amazement is that such a great company thought it would be a good idea in the first place.
In formulating and launching the cola beverage, Coke used the wrong logic that spice flavorings were used in many foods and beverages, but trends do not necessarily extend to all types or categories of products.
Another reason “spice” probably fell on it’s feet was lack of trial. Maybe it was a tasty product, and maybe spice girls and spice boys would have enjoyed it after all, but with a million other choices on the shelves today, it is challenging for any new sku to succeed.
Sounds more like it should be called Coke Lemon (wink, wink) I don’t know that Coca-Cola has many failures, but when they do have them they seem to be quite spectacular…perhaps that has made them quick to pull the plug. Based on the description provided, this appears to be a Dr. Pepper clone, which as we know, operates by its own rules….rules that CC seems yet to learn.
Props for “speed to market” but in this case more consumer panel testing would have helped Coke realize its product misstep before launch. So…props for cutting its losses quickly.
Between Coke and Pepsi alone there are so many flavors it’s hard to keep track. If Spiced Coke isn’t working it makes sense for Coke to cut its losses and move on to something that will.
Though this particular launch didn’t do well, I wouldn’t label it a failure, the reason being that the smartest brands sunset a product quickly if it’s not working. Coca Cola clearly learned from this and didn’t keep pushing a product that wasn’t selling. No brand is going to get it right every time- it’s how quickly you evolve with the consumer that demonstrates an understanding of your target.
I applaud Coke for moving with speed and purpose on both fronts, bringing products to market faster and deep sixing ones that don’t meet minimum thresholds. In the past, this wasn’t one of their hallmarks, but they’ve upped their game. This new muscle will serve them well and I wouldn’t be surprised if they hit a homerun in the not too distant future.
Uh….they gave up on it quickly because….it wasn’t selling? That seems reasonable. Further, to “can it” (pun intended) so quickly is very smart because this botched launch will quickly be memory holed, completely forgotten.
Whoever made the decision to drop it deserves a promotion for acting against the usual corporate dogma of ignoring what is happening in the market and hoping for a turnaround.
Coke’s R&D strategy seems to be: make products relatable to younger consumers by hopping on trends. Give Coke props for jettisoning a product that wasn’t selling or a hit with consumers. Add this to the Coca-Cola graveyard that also includes Coca Cola with Coffee (how I miss you & your 3 flavors), New Coke, OK Soda, Coca Cola Blak (an energy drink), Sprite Remix, C2 low-carb bev, Coke Life sweetened with Stevia, and Garlic Coke. Just kidding on that last one!
Looks like the Coke with Coffee products are still available from a few online sellers, if you don’t mind the shipping costs. But it shows as out-of-stock locally at Walmart.com.
What? You just made my day!
This story caused me to reflect about the infamous New Coke debacle of 1985-92. It happened at the height of the “cola wars” that embroiled Coca Cola versus Pepsi. I had the entertaining opportunity to cover those stories during my days as a trade reporter.
As things turned out, the brand’s consumer base was surprisingly resistant to that reformulation. Ultimately, Coca Cola reverted to its Coke Classic flavor, later dropping the word “classic” in favor of the present “original taste.”
An array of flavor variations have been offered in recent years to flank the core Coca Cola product, notably Cherry Coke and Vanilla Coke versions, both with and without sugar. Presumably they have sufficient following, as I still see them in coolers. Cherry Vanilla was apparently too much muchness and so it was discontinued.
Several Coca-Cola Coffee Plus products hit the market in 2021 that are still available but hard to find (at least here in Arizona).
As for the now discontinued Spiced flavor, I’d chalk it up to just one more experiment that did not catch fire. I wouldn’t view this as particularly notable, except that for some reason the product was promoted more heavily, which created elevated (unrealistic?) expectations.
Soft drink flavor variants do sometimes work very well. By all accounts Coke Zero has been a solid success alongside Diet Coke.
Coke dropped Coca-Cola Spiced because they excel at listening to consumers. Spiced was always available on the shelves — even when rivals’ drinks were sold out. Why keep investing in a product if it’s underperforming?