New Spiced Coca-Cola Flavor Is Here To Stay

Over the last few years, Coca-Cola has been testing out quirky limited editions of their fizzy drinks, and its most recent “Spiced” flavor seems to have stuck and will be added to the company’s permanent range, according to CNN.

The leading soda company announced on Wednesday that the Spiced Coca-Cola drink is a mix of the “iconic taste” of Coke with a “burst of refreshing notes from raspberry and spiced flavors.” This new flavor will be sold in sugar and zero-sugar varieties and will be stocked in stores across the U.S. and Canada in the weeks to come.

Coke is selective about its permanent drinks range, and Spiced has passed its way through to join existing flavors such as its flagship flavor, cherry, and vanilla.

Sue Lynne Cha, Coke’s vice president of marketing for North America, told CNN that the reason Spiced was picked was because it’s “all about being on category trend and responsive to our consumer preferences,” who are craving flavors with more of a kick.

Cha explained that research carried out by Coke found an “increase in consumer willingness to try a spiced beverage,” and in 2022, raspberry was chosen over 5 million times on its Freestyle drink machines, which the company “often uses for inspiration” for new flavors.

“Consumers are looking for more bold flavors and more complex flavor profiles. That’s a trend we started to see in food, but also in beverage and we [thought] that was a unique space for us to play in,” she stated, adding that there’s been a “desire of discovery” with people wanting to try something fresh.

It’s possible that Coca-Cola is also trying to compete with smaller rivals such as Olipop and Poppi, which have created strong fruit-infused tastes and are becoming popular with consumers.

Speaking to CNN, Duane Stanford, editor and publisher of Beverage Digest, said, “Growth in sales of flavored sodas has generally outpaced cola for years, which is helped by a growing multicultural population.”

He added, “It appears Coca-Cola is looking to splice that trend onto its flagship with hopes of getting young consumers to consider the entire franchise.”

The new Coca-Cola Spiced will be on sale across retailers in the U.S. in can and bottle form in a range of sizes starting Feb. 19.