New Coke

New Coke was the informal name given to a reformulated version of the soft drink Coca-Cola, introduced by the Coca-Cola Company in the United States in April 1985. It was renamed Coke II in 1990 and was discontinued in July 2002. By 1985, Coca-Cola had been losing market share to diet soft drinks and non-cola beverages for several years. Blind taste tests indicated that consumers preferred the sweeter taste of rival Pepsi-Cola, leading the company to reformulate its product. The change was met with widespread negative public reaction, and New Coke came to be regarded as a significant marketing failure. Within three months, the Coca-Cola Company reintroduced the original formula under the name "Coca-Cola Classic", which produced a notable increase in sales. The reversal prompted speculation that the formula change had been a deliberate strategy to revive interest in the original product, an interpretation the company has consistently disputed. The episode generated lasting discussion about brand identity and consumer attachment, and gave rise to several conspiracy theories regarding the company's motives. Analyses of the taste-test methodology used during the product's development have also been a subject of ongoing debate. New Coke was briefly reintroduced in 2019 in limited quantities as a promotional tie-in for the Netflix series Stranger Things. New Coke is widely cited as a cautionary tale about the risks of altering a well-established and successful brand.