The world-renowned Coca-Cola brand is facing a social opinion debate. The leading brand in the carbonated beverage industry changed one of the ingredients of Coca-Cola years ago: it replaced cane sugar with high fructose corn syrup in its recipe. According to consumers, the taste of the sugary drink changed, but it was not a major problem. This decision was made with the intention of protecting the health and nutrition of consumers, and to regulate sugar consumption.
However, a comment by President Trump has set off alarm bells among fans of the beverage. Trump publicly praised the brand’s decision to replace corn syrup with sugar. However, there are no official statements from the brand on the matter. In addition, experts believe that it would mean an increase in prices in the United States, in addition to forcing the company to redesign production processes and solve the global supply. Would you like the old, sugary Coca-Cola to come back?
Coca-Cola
The Coca-Cola Company is a U.S.-based multinational corporation engaged in the manufacture and supply of carbonated and sugar-sweetened beverages. Founded in 1886 in Atlanta, Georgia, it is still headquartered in the same place. Its products include concentrates and syrups for soft drinks. It has more than 500 brands of soft drinks and non-carbonated beverages on the market, including Coca-Cola (and all its variants), Fanta, Sprite, Monster, Schweppes, among many others.
What happened with Coca-Cola?
In its beginnings, the Coca-Cola recipe had sugar among its ingredients. However, in the 1980s, the brand replaced this ingredient with corn syrup in the United States. Why? They wanted to reduce costs and this option was much cheaper. In addition, it is a product that can be found in the United States, without the need to import it, unlike sugar. Some consumers stated that it did change the taste, but that was not a problem for their demand.
However, it seems that the social choice has changed in the last week due to some statements. Republican President Trump’s interventions are increasingly unpredictable. One of his latest statements included public praise for the Coca-Cola brand, congratulating it for switching back from corn syrup to cane sugar. The truth is that the Coca-Cola brand has not made any kind of statement on the matter nor has it made any related announcement.
Impact of the change of ingredients
Although Coca-Cola has not commented on any ingredient change, experts have. This is the case of Supermarket Guru editor and Food Industry analyst Phil Lempert, who told Newsnation that this change makes no sense for the company, “I don’t think Coca-Cola is going to do it. It would increase the price. We have cane sugar situations around the world, especially in Brazil. So, sourcing is an issue.”
He explained that, if this change were to happen, it would not only have an impact on the price the consumer would have to pay for a can of soft drink, but the company itself would have to redesign all its production processes, and face global supply problems. On the other hand, the Corn Refiners Association has also spoken out. It has warned of the serious problem that this change would pose for U.S. corn syrup farmers.
What about Coca-Cola?
As mentioned, the Coca-Cola company has not made any statement on the matter. Its only statement has been to Newsweek, to whom it expressed “More details on new and novel offerings within our Coca-Cola product range will be shared soon”. However, both specialists and Lempert believe that if cane sugar is used again as an ingredient, it will be in specialty products, but not in traditional Coca-Cola. This rumor comes just at a time when people are betting on consuming less and less sugary beverages, so it would not make sense for the brand to make that leap, also taking into account the costs it would entail for the brand.