A man walks past shelves of Coca-Cola bottles and cans at a shopping mall in Lagos, Nigeria November 5, 2019.
Temilade Adelaja | Reuters
Coca-Cola plans to introduce a version of its namesake cola made with cane sugar in the U.S. this fall, the company announced on Tuesday.
Coke has used high-fructose corn syrup to sweeten its namesake soda in the U.S. since the 1980s, although it still uses cane sugar in other markets like Mexico. “Mexican Coke” has gained popularity in the U.S. over the last decade or so, as retailers like Costco and Target have stocked the drink, following the lead of bodegas and restaurants catering to Hispanic clientele.
In a news release announcing its second-quarter earnings Tuesday, Coke said the new product offering is “designed to complement the company’s strong core portfolio and offer more choices across occasions and preferences.”
The product announcement comes after President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social on Wednesday that he has been speaking with the company about using “REAL Cane Sugar” in its U.S. soda. Trump is a longtime fan of Diet Coke, which uses the artificial sweetener aspartame, and even has a button in the Oval Office to summon the drink.
“As you may have seen last week, we appreciate the president’s enthusiasm for our Coca-Cola brand,” Coke CEO James Quincey said Tuesday on the company’s earnings conference call, before announcing the new product.
Trump’s Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has vocally opposed the use of high-fructose corn syrup, blaming it for obesity and chronic disease. Research does not suggest that cane sugar is a healthier option than high-fructose corn syrup.
Longstanding tariff-rate quotas on sugar imported from other countries make the commodity a more expensive option than corn syrup, which is made in the U.S. and supported by government subsidies for corn farmers.
Coke already sweetens some of its other U.S. products with cane sugar, like its lemonade, teas and Vitaminwater brand, according to Quincey.
“I think it’s a good sign that the industry, including ourselves, are trying lots of different things as it relates to the cane sugar,” he told analysts.
Prior to Tuesday’s announcement, Coke had been touting moves to cut back the amount of sugar in its portfolio — and customers are liking the switch. For example, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar has been one of the fastest-growing drinks for the company, with 9% volume growth last year.
Rival PepsiCo has also been adding cane sugar back to its namesake cola. On Monday, the company announced the forthcoming launch of Pepsi Prebiotic Cola, which includes three grams of fiber and five grams of cane sugar.
