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New Coke, 35 years on

independent.co.uk

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Re: New Coke, 35 years on

#81

Post by briandear »

teslabox wrote: post #41

I like the conspiracy theory about how the New Coke fiasco was actually deliberate subterfuge for switching the product from sugar to high fructose corn syrup. Corn-syrup coca-cola tastes different than Coca Kola's classic sugar formula, and allegedly people noticed the difference when the Coca-Cola company was doing tests, pre-New Coke. My cousin-in-law only drinks "Mexican Coke" (but Mexicans drinking coca-cola in…

> Wikipedia says only mexican coca-kola produced for export is made with sugar).

Wikipedia is wrong. When I'm in Guadalajara and buy bottles of coke locally, it has sugar. It's an anecdote, but it does disprove Wikipedia. One specific independent bottler in Mexico wanted to use HFCS, but there are other bottlers other than Arca Continental. Coca-Cola FEMSA is the largest bottler in Mexico and they use sugar.

Re: New Coke, 35 years on

#82

Post by friendlybus »

Gunax wrote: post #65

What I find incredible is just how similar everything tastes. Either my qualia are objectively different from everyone else's, or it's 90% marketing fluff and psychological tribalism. It's not so much that there can't be a difference between the various cokes, Pepsis, and other brands--I just find it hard to believe that the difference is so great that people can find one repulsive and the other divine. It's all just…

Even a small difference in taste is enough for people to prefer A over B for the rest of their lives. The products don’t change. That’s worth billions.

Re: New Coke, 35 years on

#84

Post by aesthesia »

seisvelas wrote: post #32
RandallBrown wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't believe this is (100%) true anymore. Mexican Coke you buy in the US is sweetened with cane sugar, but Mexican Coke you buy in Mexico is often sweetened with high fructose corn syrup.

You are right that it is not 100% true, but it is mostly true. The US uses corn syrup because the US government heavily subsidizes corn. Some Mexican producers in Mexico do use corn syrup, which is a cheap import from the US, but even here the majority use sugar. This kind of thing happens in with other countries as well. In New Zealand you can get local coke which is sugar-sweetened or imported American coke with co…

It's less that corn is subsidized and more that the US has a system of price supports for sugar. The price of sugar in the US is significantly higher than in other countries, so food producers have an incentive to use alternatives.

Re: New Coke, 35 years on

#85

Post by rustyshackleton »

WalterBright wrote: post #63
yodon wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The path to New Coke was quite simple, actually. Coke learned that in blind taste tests, consumers overwhelmingly preferred Pepsi to Coke, by a wide margin and repeatable across a wide range of tests. The preference was simple - Pepsi was sweeter, and in blind taste tests people overwhelmingly preferred the sweeter drink. This hard data was seen as indicating a looming crisis and management felt the need to act and a…

> and in blind taste tests people overwhelmingly preferred the sweeter drink. I remember those taste test booths Pepsi would set up in shopping malls and such. Here's how they went for me: 1. They'd hand me two unmarked cups, one with Pepsi and one with Coke. 2. I'd take a sip from each, they'd ask me which I preferred. 3. I always knew which was the Coke, and would point to it. 4. They'd look away and say "Next!" I'…

I got a sodastream while I've been working from home and using more or less syrup gives a lot of control over how sweet your drink is. If you like soda without cloying sweetness give it a shot. I've gotten a lot of value out of it.

Re: New Coke, 35 years on

#86

Post by strbean »

briandear wrote: post #81
teslabox wrote: post #41

I like the conspiracy theory about how the New Coke fiasco was actually deliberate subterfuge for switching the product from sugar to high fructose corn syrup. Corn-syrup coca-cola tastes different than Coca Kola's classic sugar formula, and allegedly people noticed the difference when the Coca-Cola company was doing tests, pre-New Coke. My cousin-in-law only drinks "Mexican Coke" (but Mexicans drinking coca-cola in…

> Wikipedia says only mexican coca-kola produced for export is made with sugar). Wikipedia is wrong. When I'm in Guadalajara and buy bottles of coke locally, it has sugar. It's an anecdote, but it does disprove Wikipedia. One specific independent bottler in Mexico wanted to use HFCS, but there are other bottlers other than Arca Continental. Coca-Cola FEMSA is the largest bottler in Mexico and they use sugar.

I'm curious about the price difference between HFCS and sugar in Mexico. My understanding is that in the US, HFCS prices are artificially low due to corn subsidies while sugar prices are artificially high due to protectionist policies. I wonder if HFCS is any cheaper outside the US.

Re: New Coke, 35 years on

#88

Post by kenny11 »

mywittyname wrote: post #74
epicureanideal wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would be interested to know whether they tested this WITH FOOD. If I were just drinking a few sips of some soda, I probably would prefer Pepsi. But if I'm eating almost any kind of food, I prefer Coke, because it's not so overpoweringly sweet in comparison to whatever food I'm eating. And in general I don't just crack open a soda and drink it straight, I'm usually drinking it with some food, so 90% of the soda I bu…

Oh, from a few sips you'd definitely prefer Pepsi. But you're right, Coke is amazing because it compliments food so damn well. There's a reason 90% or so of American restaurants use Coke, and it's not just because Pepsi owns Yum! brands, as this was the case since long before that happened. Edit: now that I think about it, I wouldn't be surprised if Coke contains a chemical similar to MSG that acts as a flavor enhanc…

Another reason that restaurants (at least those with bars) prefer Coke is that Pepsi makes a terrible mixer. There's a reason that "rum and Pepsi" isn't a thing.

Re: New Coke, 35 years on

#89

Post by renewiltord »

NoodleIncident wrote: post #52
TeMPOraL wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> because it was destroying their relationship to one of the strongest brands in the world. No one wanted Coke to be New. They had Pepsi for that. They preferred Coke to be their connection to the golden age of all their past good times. I don't believe anything resembling this kind of thinking process goes through a typical customer's head, even subconsciously. It doesn't pass the smell test as a rationalization, an…

I find it strange how many people on the internet are convinced ads and branding just... don't work? They obviously do. Even if you think they don't work on you (which you're probably wrong about), they work on everyone else.

No no, I think we buy the branding thing. I'm pretty sure part of the reason I have the car I do is a branding thing, etc. etc. I'm like the #1 brand sucker on the planet. But that's at the "these guys are outdoorsy", "you're sophisticated", "you're cool" level not at the "this represents classic American values vs. this is the new generation" thing. That sounds like nonsense to me.

Just clarifying that it isn't whether branding works but the shape of the working. Like, I admit being easily influenced by them, just not in that direction. Like Red Bull is cool action sports, right? But I've never had a Red Bull when I've gone skiing. Not saying branding doesn't directly modify my associations, just that the way isn't what yodon said.

Re: New Coke, 35 years on

#90

Post by function_seven »

WalterBright wrote: post #64
majormajor wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Now you're getting into canned-vs-bottled-vs-fountain territory, which is a whole different beast! I enjoy precisely that aspect of canned Coke, but I avoid it from bottles or fountains. Dr. Pepper for those situations.

Coke in the glass bottle is the best Coke, because there is more carbonation. The plastic bottles are the worst because of the lowest carbonation.

Is that why I hate plastic bottle soda? I've always chalked it up to some sort of either: (a) Taste taint from the container, where whatever they line cans with is better than the PET of the bottle, or (b) The warmer container temperature due to plastic not conducting heat as well as aluminum, causing me to think that the drink inside is warmer. (In other words, psychological issues while drinking from the plastic bottle)

When I was a kid, the absolute best was those 16oz. glass bottles with the polystyrene labels[0]. Somehow that Pepsi was colder than ice and more refreshing than any other version.

[0] old.reddit.com/r/nostalgia/comments/42ky57/

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