Gone are the days of gathering around the water cooler or stepping out for a smoke break. A new trend has emerged, particularly among Gen Z and Millennial workers, centered around the seemingly simple act of enjoying a Diet Coke. This article explores the multifaceted reasons behind the Diet Coke and sweatpants trend, examining its connection to social media, diet culture, nostalgia, and even political undertones.
The Social Media Spark
The rise of Diet Coke as a trendy beverage is undeniably linked to social media platforms. Videos showcasing young professionals taking an afternoon "DC" run have gained traction. Kristen Seninger, a program marketer at Sephora, notes that romanticizing Diet Coke has become popular on social media. This can be attributed to a desire to find joy in small pleasures, especially when facing the monotony of a typical workday. "Nobody wants to be sitting at their desk for eight hours a day, and I think romanticizing the little things in life helps you change your perspective."
Diet Culture and "Thinspiration"
However, the Diet Coke trend is not without its complexities. Ashliene McMenamy explores in her op-ed how the social media resurgence of Diet Coke is inherently tied to diet culture and "thinspiration." The hashtag brings up videos of America’s Next Top Model contestants with impossibly tiny waists; edits of Madison Montgomery from American Horror Story: Coven with the text, “I refuse to drink my calories”; and more recently, a video of a fridge, empty except for a single Dr. Jart face mask, a bottle of 818 Tequila, Wegovy, and multiple cans of Diet Coke, captioned, “Is the fridge giving brat girl summer?”
Diet Coke's viral presence coincides with the popularity of high fashion accounts, #WhatIEatinADay videos, and the resurgence of 2010s aesthetics like pale grunge and indie sleaze - all trends that are and were inherently tied to thinness. As we revive these trends in the new Ozempic era, social media indicates that thinspiration is on the rise, and Diet Coke seems to be intertwined.
When Diet Coke was introduced in 1982, it was positioned as the "heir" to the Coca-Cola throne. It wasn’t just the low-cal alternative to Coke, the new drink was, advertising executives wanted consumers to believe, a whole separate product that was fully new to the market. Diet Coke quickly became the top diet soft drink and was named the brand of the decade at the end of the ‘80s. In culture, Diet Coke became associated with power, glamor, and indulgence. Eventually, it would also become a fixture in the fashion industry; Karl Lagerfeld, whose complicated legacy as a designer is tainted with fatphobic and misogynistic opinions, drank up to 10 cans a day.
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The Wellness Rebrand
By 2016, the demand for diet sodas was nearly "extinct," according to a Business Insider article, pointing to a massive decline in sales numbers. Two years later, The New Yorker dubbed Diet Coke the "elixir of soft-bodied plutocrats" like former President Donald Trump and Elon Musk. In retrospect, the use of the phrase “soft-bodied” is interesting, as this was the height of the body positivity movement. But, this movement wasn’t without its flaws; thin wasn’t exactly in, but it wasn’t out. Instead, we saw the entrance of “wellness,” which preached diet culture by a different name. Rather than diet soda, aerobics, and low fat food, we saw a rebrand to matcha lattes, 6AM Pilates, eating “clean,” and being “mindful.” Diet sodas and their association with artificial sweeteners, increased risks of health issues, and morally corrupt men in power obviously didn’t fit into that image.
According to a 2022 study in The Cornell Undergraduate Research Journal, both “thinspiration” and “fitspiration” posts have the ability to “induce negative body image disorder habits” like disordered eating and poor body image.
The Return of the '90s and 2000s
When I quit modeling in 2022, the body positivity era was waning and the aesthetics of the ‘90s and 2000s had returned: low rise jeans, midriff baring tops, and of all trends, Diet Coke. Kate Moss, the model we most associate with thinness in the early aughts, even became the brand’s creative director in 2022.
Like cigarettes, in the hands of a Cool Girl model or content creator, Diet Coke is no longer an unhealthy drink associated with gross men. Instead, it’s the marker of a girl in the know, one who’s messy and hot and, of course, thin.
A Marker of Beauty
The return of Diet Coke as an accessory seems to be bringing us squarely back to when thinness was inherently tied to what we found fashionable and beautiful. Drinking Diet Coke won’t make you thin, and obviously not all Diet Coke drinkers are thin, but the rise in social media cache of this particular beverage is yet another reminder that we’re returning to an era when thinness was a hallmark of beauty, and Diet Coke was a staple in the community that defined what beauty is. That beauty ideal never really went away, but it waned; with its full-fledged return comes the seemingly increasing popularity of diet products - whether that be Diet Coke, diet food, or even diet medications like Ozempic and Wegovy.
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Diet Coke: A Patriotic Duty?
For a brand that is perhaps more synonymous with American culture than any other, Diet Coke is devoid of pretty much anything. With zero calories and 46 milligrams of caffeine, the soda is much as it's advertised, "Just For the Taste of It." And yet it's the favorite of some of the country's most recognizable figures, from supermodels to top executives to even the president himself.
Invented by an Atlanta pharmacist in the 1880s, the classic Coca-Cola recipe has become a symbol of American soft power around the world. culture and lifestyle in the country, with 94 percent of the world's population recognizing the iconic Coke logo, according to Statista.
"It feels like it's my patriotic duty to be indulging in this, even though it's bad [for me]," Hernandez said.
The Trump Factor
For all the ink that was spilled about Donald Trump's first term, few stories were as intriguing to the public back then than the revelation that the new president had installed a red button on the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office that summoned staff to bring him cans of Diet Coke on demand, satiating his reported habit of drinking up to 12 cans a day. The soda button was reinstalled last month on the day of Trump's second inauguration - one of the first things he did - and to commemorate Trump's return to the White House, James Quincey, chief executive and chair of Coca-Cola Company, presented the president with a special customized bottle of his favorite sugar-free soda.
Trump isn't the only figure in the new administration who count themselves in the cult of Diet Coke. The beverage giant has marketed Diet Coke mainly to women since it was first released in 1982.
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In 1984, which Newsweek declared to be the "Year of the Yuppie" in its year-end issue, Trump was solidifying his rise to fame, having just acquired his first venture outside of real estate while rubbing shoulders with the likes of Jackie Kennedy at social events. It was only three years later, he would publish his famous book, "The Art of the Deal."
From "Girl Drink" to Symbol of Masculinity
Diet Coke's seemingly overnight transition from "girl drink" to symbol of masculinity is part of a larger trend that Andrea Hernandez, author of the popular food and beverage newsletter Snaxshot, calls "cocaine induced opulence", which prizes productivity, stimulant use and an intense office culture favored by people like Musk.
"The pendulum has swung back hard, the era of enlightment is over-stimmys over demons all the way," Hernandez declared in December.
The Yuppie 80s
Living on the edgeShared nickname aside, Diet Coke and this new trend both sell "stylish excess" to the American consumer, while tapping into the yearning for nostalgia among Gen Z-this time romanticizing the aesthetics of 1980s Wall Street, which was visually characterized by the revitalization of Art Deco architecture, culturally characterized by films like American Psycho and economically characterized by free-market policies like Reagonomics that were born in the 80s.
"For some reason, Diet Coke still gives 'yuppy 80s office worker' vibes," Hernandez told Newsweek in a Monday interview.
The celebrity-businessman-turned-president has, for decades, embodied the era's "Greed Is Good" mindset, justifying the shattering of norms in pursuit of success and economic gain. That mentality is emblematic of what the Diet Coke brand is offering consumers, Hernandez said.
The Aspartame Debate
Then, in 2023, a World Health Organization agency classified aspartame, an artificial sweetener used in many diet sodas, as "possibly carcinogenic to humans". But that warning has done little to disabuse Diet Coke lovers looking for their afternoon caffeine fix.
"It's sort of playing with danger," Hernandez said. "Like, 'Yeah, aspartame kills me, but who cares? It gives me caffeine, it's not going to kill me with sugar.' The aspartame might kill you, but it's like why Zyn is more popular as opposed to cigarettes."
She added that it's not just the taste, but the association with productivity, thanks to the heavy dose of caffeine, that makes Diet Coke "the OG functional energy drink."
A Countercultural Statement
Diet Coke's resurgence also comes amid a broader pendulum swing in the popular culture.
In the same way that supporting Trump became "cool" to many younger voters this past election cycle, embracing the zero-calorie version of America's favorite soft drink has become something of a countercultural way to push back against the health and wellness trends that have become so dominant over the past decade.
"There was this whole anti-soda movement" that has triggered a "You can't tell me what I can and cannot drink" backlash, Hernandez said. "Big Soda has been making a real big comeback. Anything that was demonized, like food and sugar, we're starting to see again."
"Drinking Diet Coke is kind of a status symbol," she said. Kennedy Jr, Trump's new health and human services secretary, has acknowledged the president's soda habit, drawing a line at banning sodas despite his promise to "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA).
"I don't want to take food away from anybody. If you like a McDonald's cheeseburger and a Diet Coke-which my boss loves-you should be able to get them. If you want to Hostess' Twinkies, you should be able to do that," Kennedy said at his confirmation hearing last month. "But you should know what the impacts are on your family and your health."
The Ultra-Processed Food Debate
Marion Nestle, a nutrition, food studies and public health professor at New York University, told Newsweek that it "looks like Coca-Cola is trying to position Diet Coke as part of the MAHA movement."
"Diet Coke has always been marketed to dieters and more recently to people who are trying even harder to reduce their sugar intake," Nestle said.
But with the popularity of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, more Americans are avoiding sugar, snacks and ultra-processed foods altogether. That might put Diet Coke in a bind, even if it's receiving unofficial endorsements from the president.
"Artificial sweeteners are a marker of ultra-processed foods. These induce people to consume more calories-the opposite of what MAHA seems to want," Nestle said.
Haggerty added that, "Ozempic and other weight-loss treatments are replacing Diet Coke as the 'drug-of-choice' amongst the thin young woman set."
Diet Coke as a Lifestyle
Diet Coke has become more than just a drink; it's a symbol of belonging to a (feminine-coded) community of people who unapologetically love to treat themselves to a beverage. The phrase "I Need a Diet Coke" that has become beloved social copy holds weight because it’s relatable to devotees who have found themselves uttering the same phrase at moments when you’re in need of that jolt of energy that an ice cold Diet Coke can provide.
Sure, Diet Coke's popularity can partly be attributed to its addictive nature. Like coffee, it provides a constant, zero-calorie caffeine fix. The sensory experience - from the distinctive "pstchkkk" of the can opening to the fizz of bubbles reacting with ice - creates a ritual of satisfaction leading up to the caffeine rush that no doubt further endears us drinkers.
But something deeper is happening. We’re seeing this devotion manifest outside loyal trips to the beverage aisle or McDonald’s drive thru. There’s the official Diet Coke merchandise and licensed products but there’s also the cottage industry of bootleg merch that’s more fan-art than it is intentional licensing fraud: Diet Coquette-core clothing, Candles that literally smells like Diet Coke, Artwork, like an actual oil painting
Diet Coke's Market Performance
Diet Coke has experienced a resurgence in consumer interest and sales growth, driven by strategic marketing campaigns, social media engagement, and product innovation. Search interest for "diet coke caffeine free" dominated globally, peaking at 85 in April 2025, while "diet coke flavors" emerged as a new query in June 2025 (value: 13). Sales of "diet coke bottles" fluctuated but remained stable (23-45). Coca-Cola’s Q1 2025 results showed 2% global unit case volume growth, with Diet Coke Zero Sugar sales up 11% YoY 39.
Alternatives
Coca Cola Zero Sugar Orange Cream Soda $8.12 WalmartCoke Diet $7.92 Amazon.comDiet Coke 12 oz. Coca Cola Zero Sugar $7.92 Amazon.comCoke Diet $7.92 Amazon.comCoca-Cola Zero Sugar 16.9 fl.. oz.