Dive Brief:

• Coca-Cola is discontinuing production of its Spiced flavor after only seven months in the market, the beverage giant said in an email to Food Dive. It said it plans to “phase out Coca-Cola Spiced to introduce an exciting new flavor in 2025.”
• The Atlanta-based company did not provide a reason for the decision on Spiced. It noted that Coca-Cola is “always looking at what our customers like and adjusting our range of products.” 
• Spiced was meant to be the Coca-Cola brand’s first permanent offering in more than three years. The soda, which combined traditional Coke flavor with raspberry and “spiced” flavors, started appearing on shelves in February.

Dive Insight:

As Coca-Cola looks to maintain and grow consumer interest in soda, new flavor offerings have played a key role in that strategy. Spiced also was an attempt by the beverage manufacturer to respond to growing consumer interest, especially among younger individuals, for spicier foods and beverages. Despite its name, Coca-Cola said the beverage is not spicy but rather bold in flavor.

Coca-Cola didn’t give a reason for the decision to pull the product from shelves, but it’s possible that both a lack of awareness of the new offering and confusion about the flavor (it’s not spicy) contributed to poor sales.

In ending production of Spiced, Coca-Cola likely decided its resources and shelf space would be better suited to another still unannounced beverage.

A major part of Coca-Cola’s recent innovation efforts center around its Creations platform which debuted in 2022 to highlight the company’s signature beverage while drawing in younger consumers. Creations don’t promote or reveal a flavor profile, such as cola, cherry or vanilla, but rather a mood or experience. The extensions have proven successful in drawing consumers into the original Coca-Cola brand.

So far, the company has introduced 11 limited-time items, including Coca-Cola Starlight, Coca-Cola Byte, Coca-Cola Dreamworld and Coca-Cola Wozzaah. 

Coca-Cola has discontinued a handful of brands in recent years, either because of sluggish sales or to focus on higher-growth offerings. In 2021, the company said it would no longer produce Coca-Cola Energy, while last year it announced it would sharply cut the distribution of its Aha sparkling water as sales declined. Other brands to be discontinued or sold include Honest tea, Zico coconut water and Tab soda.