Diet Coke, also known as Coca-Cola Light in some regions, is a sugar-free and low-calorie diet soda produced and distributed by The Coca-Cola Company. Since its introduction, it has gained immense popularity and become a cultural symbol for some. This article delves into the ingredients of Diet Coke/Coca-Cola Light, its history, cultural impact, and variations.
Origins and Development
When diet colas first entered the market, beginning with No-Cal in 1958, The Coca-Cola Company had a long-standing policy to use the Coca-Cola name only on its flagship cola, and so its diet cola was named Tab when it was released in 1963. Its rival Pepsi had no such qualms, and after the long-term success of its sugar-free Diet Pepsi (launched in 1964) became clear, Coca-Cola decided to develop a competing sugar-free brand under the Coca-Cola name that could be marketed more easily than Tab. Unveiled on July 8, 1982, Diet Coke was the first new brand since the Coca-Cola Company's creation in 1886 to use the Coca-Cola trademark. In 1992, the product was available in 117 markets worldwide with a unit case volume of 1.25 billion.
Ingredients and Variations
The most commonly distributed version of Diet Coke uses aspartame as a sweetener. Diet Coke differs from Coca-Cola by having a higher amount (approximately 33% more) of caffeine. The ingredients and taste of Diet Coke have slight variations between different bottling countries.
Sweeteners
Diet Coke is a cola drink containing artificial sweeteners, primarily aspartame, instead of sugar. Aspartame became available in the United States in 1983. Early on, to reduce costs, this was blended with saccharin. After Diet Rite cola advertised its 100 percent use of aspartame, and the manufacturer of NutraSweet (then G. D. Searle & Company) warned that the NutraSweet trademark would not be made available to a blend of sweeteners, Coca-Cola switched the formula to 100 percent aspartame.
Splenda Version
In 2005, under pressure from retailer Walmart (which was impressed with the over-the-counter popularity of Splenda sweetener), the company released a new formulation called "Diet Coke sweetened with Splenda". Sucralose and acesulfame potassium replaced aspartame in this version. Diet Coke with Splenda contained 2.83 mgs of caffeine per fluid ounce.
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Other Variations
Over the years, Coca-Cola has introduced several variations of Diet Coke, including:
- Diet Coke without the caffeine.
- Diet Coke with a vanilla flavor.
- Diet Coke with a combination of Ginger and Lime flavors.
- Diet Coke with a Mango flavor.
- Diet Coke with a Blood Orange flavor, similar to Coca-Cola Light Sango.
- Diet Coke with a combination of Ginger and Lemon flavors.
Health and Safety
Diet Coke (and rivals like Diet Pepsi) have capitalized on the markets of people who require low sugar regimens, such as diabetics and people concerned with calorie intake. As one of the most intensively scrutinized food additives, the safety of aspartame has been studied since its discovery. Aspartame has been deemed safe for human consumption by the regulatory agencies of many countries. Nevertheless, since its inception the drink has been scrutinised by some with claims that it is harmful in various ways, such as that it can dehydrate and increase food cravings.
Marketing and Advertising
Coca-Cola has used various slogans throughout Diet Coke's history to advertize the product, both in the United States and internationally. Coca-Cola used the slogan "Just for the taste of it!" for almost all years between its 1982 launch and at least 1997, and has been accompanied with an iconic jingle. A version of the song was also performed by Elton John and Paula Abdul in an ad at Super Bowl XXIV. A famous advert of the brand was "Diet Coke Break" in 1994 featuring Lucky Vanous, from which point on the brand became targeted primarily at women.
From 2010 to 2014, "Stay Extraordinary" was the main slogan in use. Coca-Cola launched the "You're on" campaign in 2014. However it was soon dropped after it was mocked, due to its unintentional drug reference (cocaine). Later that year, "Get a Taste" was introduced, asking the question "what if life tasted this good?". This campaign lasted until 2018. In 2018, Diet Coke launched the "Because I can." slogan and campaign at the same time as a major rebrand and the addition of new flavors.
Cultural Impact
Diet Coke has had a significant cultural impact, including links with healthiness and wellness but also negative connotations in regards to body image. It has achieved high popularity in certain circles with loyal fans, including in popular culture. Victoria Beckham, Dua Lipa and Bill Clinton are known fans of the drink, and Donald Trump notably has a dedicated button for Diet Coke in his presidential office. The drink has been known to be the choice of "it girls", and has been popular in the fashion scene.
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The drink's all-silver can color, which has been in use since 1997, has been considered iconic and a distinctive design.
Coca-Cola Light Name
Since its inception in 1982, Diet Coke has been the product name in Coca-Cola's home country the United States and a number of other countries. Other countries, such as Germany (then West Germany) have used the Coca-Cola Light name since the beginning. This name is now most common in most of Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia. In many countries including Italy, Mexico and the Netherlands, the product originally launched in 1983-84 under the "Diet Coke" name, but would later switch to the "Coca-Cola Light" name in the early 1990s.
Coca-Cola Zero
Partly because of marketing reasons, connected to the public perception of the word "diet" and what it stands for, Coca-Cola launched Coca-Cola Zero as another sugarless cola product in 2005.
Market Share
In the United States, Diet Coke held a market share of 11.7% in 1991 according to Beverage Digest (this compares to 20.0% for Coca-Cola Classic and 18.4% for Pepsi-Cola).
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