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Family is coming to my house for Christmas. I need to have Diet Coke on hand. I never drink the stuff myself (I prefer regular Pepsi, Sprite, Sunkist, or Crush).

I was literally gawking at the shelves in the soda pop aisle for three minutes or longer until I *finally* saw what I needed. Much to my amazement, the label on the Diet Coke bottle was unrecognizable!!!

On the 2-liter bottles, the classic silver label with "Diet" in cursive black lettering and "Coke" in big red letters has been replaced by a label with a predominantly red background. In other words, the newly designed label looks a LOT like the label for regular Coke!

Compounding the matter is the fact the font size for the word "Diet" has been reduced.

Why on earth would Coke make one of its strongest brands so damn difficult to identify on grocery store shelves?!?!

Did these fools not learn a damn thing from the Tropicana fiasco (a PepsiCo product) from several years ago?

https://www.thebrandingjournal.com/2015 ... n-failure/

I think the logo/package re-design corresponded with the role out of the new "Diet Coke Flavors". They should of left the flagship alone and introduced the flavored product with the new design. I don't see the hard core base trying the flavors, but they may attract new customers with the new SKU's.

One thing positive, the new items will create a larger Coke Billboard on the shelf.

Welcome to the reality that you're not a 30-something woman. Diet Coke along with all soda has been experiencing a decline. Millennials are not adopting like Boomers and Genex. Packaging is about new customers. You may not like the new packaging but you found it and you bought it.

TC Talks wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 22, 2018 9:40 am

Welcome to the reality that you're not a 30-something woman. Diet Coke along with all soda has been experiencing a decline. Millennials are not adopting like Boomers and Genex. Packaging is about new customers. You may not like the new packaging but you found it and you bought it.

Until their kids start rejecting “that weird water you guys drink”...

Over the years, we boomers grew accustomed to being the most influential, most sought after market, just because of our sheer numbers. Now it seems, we just don't matter anymore. Over the past several years I've experienced a steady pattern of products or brands I always liked and used, suddenly becoming unavailable. They've just quit making them.

As a demographic group we could still be an important market, but they choose to ignore us. Most of us are established, have our kids through school and moved out, we have our mortgages paid off and we have disposable income to spend. But no one is trying to market to us.

Turkeytop wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 22, 2018 12:00 pm

But no one is trying to market to us.

There are SOME exceptions.

Bryce wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 22, 2018 12:25 pm

Turkeytop wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 22, 2018 12:00 pm

But no one is trying to market to us.

There are SOME exceptions.

Interestingly boomers are now a smaller group than millennials... that may factor into the shift... it shrinks by the day...

Bryce wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 22, 2018 12:25 pm

Turkeytop wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 22, 2018 12:00 pm

But no one is trying to market to us.

There are SOME exceptions.

The Drug makers are pretty clever. Sell them a blood pressure medication that kills the libido, then, "we have a fix for that."

You may not like the new packaging but you found it and you bought it.

Actually, at Kroger, I evidently walked right past it. The red labels fooled me! I actually gave up and assumed it was out of stock.

It wasn't until I went to Meijer later in the day (I was going to go to Meijer anyway), and three full minutes of shelf staring, that I finally located it! LOL

I don't drink a ton of pop myself. I prefer Gatorade or water in most cases.

MWmetalhead wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 22, 2018 2:54 pm

I don't drink a ton of pop myself. I prefer Gatorade or water in most cases.

You and everyone who values their health.

TC Talks wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 22, 2018 3:03 pm

MWmetalhead wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 22, 2018 2:54 pm

I don't drink a ton of pop myself. I prefer Gatorade or water in most cases.

You and everyone who values their health.

But the sugar is addicting! Plus the caffeine keeps one awake on the road...

I probably have 48 ounces or so a day on average in 12 hours... too freakin much and I’m trying to cut back while I’m still skinny as a rail...

I'm admittedly a cola junkie and have been since I can remember. Started drinking diet pop exclusively after I was diagnosed with Diabetes in 1996. The running between me and my wife is that she won't need to pay for embalming when I pass away due to the fact there's enough aspartame in my body to preserve it indefinitely.

I've been drinking diet Coke/Pepsi/store brand cola long enough that I can no longer stand the taste and sweetness of regular pop. Occasionally someone makes a mistake in fast-food drive-through and hands me regular instead of diet. If I don't catch the goof until after the fact I might finish a third of the beverage before I offer it to someone else or pitch it.

I have read various studies on the unhealthy effects of artificial sweeteners and conclusions that regular pop, although not exactly healthy, is a better choice than the diet stuff, even for diabetics. These days I try to alternate between diet pop and unsweetened soda water.

Calvert DeForest wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 29, 2018 10:33 am

I have read various studies on the unhealthy effects of artificial sweeteners and conclusions that regular pop, although not exactly healthy, is a better choice than the diet stuff, even for diabetics. These days I try to alternate between diet pop and unsweetened soda water.

THE INC. LIFE
Here's the Science That Explains Why Drinking Diet Soda Makes You Gain Weight
And then there's what it does to your brain....

https://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/diet-s ... drome.html

At least weight isn't an issue for me. I've been consistently 20-30 pounds underweight for several years. Granted my AIC numbers have not always been within range. Some studies have shown that artificial sweeteners like aspartame can actually raise blood sugar levels higher than sugar or corn syrup in Type II diabetics. They can interfere with the body's natural ability to regulate glucose production and trigger upward spikes. They can also hasten downward spikes when insulin injections are involved.

I drink maybe two cans of Coke per year. On a hot day, I can guzzle it down in a few swallows. Last week, I opened up a can and didn't even finish it.