Coca-Cola (KO) is ceasing the production of its new Spiced flavor just six months after the soda was introduced, signaling the end of an unsuccessful effort to appeal to younger consumers.
The company stated that Coca-Cola is constantly evaluating the preferences of its customers and making adjustments. “As part of this approach, we intend to discontinue Coca-Cola Spiced in order to introduce an exciting new flavor in 2025,” a spokesperson explained.
The brief existence of Spiced is unexpected, as the company had marketed it as a permanent flavor. Coca-Cola did not specify the reason for discontinuing Spiced, although it is likely that limited awareness of the new product and confusion about the flavor (it was not actually spicy) contributed to underwhelming sales.
Coca-Cola launched Spiced in February with a high-profile advertising campaign. The drink combined the classic Coke flavor with hints of raspberry.
Spiced was developed to appeal to Gen-Z consumers, who have a preference for more robust flavors, and major soda companies have relinquished some of their flavor innovation to more daring newcomers, such as Olipop and Poppi.
In recent years, Coca-Cola has regularly refreshed its product lineup with limited-time offerings, including a new Oreo-flavored soda. It has also introduced some ambiguously flavored limited-time Cokes, such as “Dreamworld,” “Starlight,” and “Byte” flavored Coca-Cola. Additionally, it collaborated with DJ Marshmello on a flavor that did not resemble marshmallow.
These beverages were part of its experimental Creations line, which aimed to attract young consumers. Duane Sanford, editor of Beverage Digest, suggested to CNN that Spiced “might have been overshadowed” by those limited-time offerings.
However, Coca-Cola intended for Spiced to become a permanent addition to its lineup due to its research showing an “increase in consumer willingness to try a spiced beverage” and the selection of raspberry over 5 million times on its Freestyle drink machines in 2022, which the company “often uses for inspiration” for new flavors, according to Sue Lynne Cha, the company’s vice president of marketing for North America.
“Consumers are seeking bolder flavors and more intricate flavor profiles,” Cha previously informed CNN. “This is a trend we have observed in food as well as beverages, and we believed it was a unique area for us to explore.”
Coca-Cola does not separately report sales of individual Coke flavors, and the drink was not mentioned in Coke’s most recent earnings call. The company’s net revenue for the second quarter increased by 2.9%, but the volumes of its North American sales, where Spiced was available, declined by 1%.
