Coke Bows to Public Taste, Will Bring Back Real Thing : Also Plans to Continue New Recipe
The Coca-Cola Co., staggered by grass-roots complaints against the new taste of Coke, said today it will bring back the “old Coke” that it replaced with a splurge of publicity in the spring.
A spokesman said, the old drink will be sold under a new name--Coca-Cola Classic.
The company had introduced a new, sweeter formula for Coke and dropped the secret recipe that made the drink a best-seller around the world for 75 years.
Today’s announcement followed weeks of angry protests from Coke drinkers who claimed that the new formula spoiled the taste of Coke.
Customers Wanted ‘Option’
The company said it decided to reissue its original formula because “thousands of dedicated Coca-Cola consumers have told us they still want the original taste as an option.”
It said the product will be available in some markets within several weeks.
Tom Gray, a spokesman for Coca-Cola in Atlanta, said Coca-Cola will continue to market its new formula, introduced in May.
Coca-Cola’s stock, among the most actively traded issues on the New York Stock Exchange, was up $2.38 a share at the close of trading today.
Analysts have said that sales of the new Coke have been spurred by curiosity, heavy promotions and price discounts but that meaningful, independent sales figures for the new Coke won’t be available until the fall.
Soft Volumen Guessed
But Hugh Zurkuhlen, an analyst with the investment firm Salomon Brothers Inc., said today, “My guess is that the June volume was a little soft for new Coke.”
Coca-Cola said last month that its shipments of Coke concentrate to bottlers in May were up 8% over a year ago, compared with a 4% rate of gain for old Coke in the months before it was discontinued.
PepsiCo Inc., meanwhile, has claimed that the reformulation of Coke is benefiting sales of Pepsi-Cola. The Purchase, N.Y.-based concern said case shipments of Pepsi rose 14% in May from a year earlier, the biggest monthly gain in the company’s 87-year history.
