In last week’s post, I asked: What was Coca-Cola’s long-term financial gain from the Coca-Cola Classic marketing debacle?
The answer: Coca-Cola’s long-term financial gain came as a result of recipe legerdemain which saved the company hundreds of millions in costs.
At the time the New Coke was foisted upon us, sugar prices had spiked to historic highs. The original Coca-Cola product was, of course, made with sugar.
Under the cover of the brand darkness created by the New Coke, the company created a new Coca-Cola recipe, now know as Coca-Cola Classic, which was made with High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), not sugar.
The cost to produce the new product, which many consumers believed was “good old Coke,” fell dramatically.
Ironically, prices have equalized to some extent in recent years, and many vendors (notably, Pepsi), have brought sugar-based recipes back to the market.
To obtain Coca-Cola made with sugar, you have to buy the “hecho in Mexico” (made in Mexico) product.
