Will Things Go Better? : Coke Hopeful

Coca-Cola, the world’s top-selling soft drink for almost a century, is changing its recipe to make it “smoother and sweeter,” company officials said today.

The move is an effort to hold onto Coke’s share of the regular cola market. Although Coca-Cola diet products have been doing well, rival soda Pepsi-Cola has been gaining in the regular cola market.

Pepsi-Cola held a victory celebration today, claiming Coke’s switch meant “the real thing” was in real trouble.

Pepsi, No. 2 in the $28-billion soft-drink market, also moved to take some of the fizz out of Coke’s hoopla with a full-page advertisement.

‘Other Guy Blinked’

“After 87 years of going at it eyeball to eyeball, the other guy just blinked,” Pepsico said in the ad. It also announced that employees of the soft-drink division would be given the day off Friday to celebrate.

Coca-Cola officials said the new formula was discovered by chemists when they were doing research four years ago on diet Coca-Cola. The old formula, officials said, will be kept secret in a vault and the new formula’s ingredients will not be revealed.

The new Coke will have three calories more than the old version and will not cost more to consumers, officials said. The new cola will be on the shelves May 8 in the United States and Canada and in other countries later this year.

Roberto Goizueta, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the Coca-Cola Co., said the world’s No. 1 consumer product will begin its 100th year with full confidence its new product will be a big success.

200,000 Test Taste

He said 200,000 consumers had been tested and the results were overwhelmingly in favor of the new Coke taste.

“The best has been made even better,” Goizueta said. “We have changed the taste of the most universally enjoyed consumer product around the world.”

Every day around the world, 200,070,000 servings of regular Coke, containing sugar, are served, company officials said.

The original Coca-Cola was developed May 8, 1886, by Dr. John Styth Pemberton. The recipe for the concoction was described as melting sugar with water in a brass kettle over an open fire and adding certain ingredients--including coca leaf, the source of cocaine, and kola nut, hence Coca-Cola.

In 1918, the government and Coke agreed on a change in that formula.