Coca-Cola will discontinue its Spiced flavor just six months after its launch

() – Coca-Cola is discontinuing production of its new Spiced flavor just six months after its launch, marking the end of a failed attempt to attract younger consumers.

The company stated that Coca-Cola is “always watching what our customers like and adjusting” its flavors. “As part of this strategy, we plan to phase out Coca-Cola Spiced to introduce an exciting new flavor in 2025,” a spokesperson said.

Spiced’s short lifespan is surprising, since the company promoted it as a permanent flavor. Coca-Cola did not provide a specific reason for removing Spiced, although a lack of awareness about the new offering and confusion over the flavor (it wasn’t really spicy) likely contributed to the lackluster sales.

Coca-Cola introduced Spiced in February with an eye-catching advertising campaign. The drink mixed the traditional Coca-Cola flavor with notes of raspberry.

Spiced was created to appeal to Gen Z consumers, who are looking for bolder flavours, and soft drink giants have ceded some of their flavor innovation to new brands such as Olipop and Poppi.

In recent years, Coca-Cola has updated its lineup with limited-time offers, like an Oreo-flavored soda. It has also released limited-time ambiguous flavors, including “Dreamworld,” “Starlight,” and “Byte.” Additionally, he teamed up with DJ Marshmello to release a new flavor, which didn’t taste like marshmallow.

Those drinks were part of its experimental Creations line, which was aimed at attracting young consumers. Duane Sanford, editor of Beverage Digest, told that Spiced “might have gotten lost in the shuffle” of those limited-time offers.

However, Coca-Cola intended for Spiced to become a permanent addition to its line because its research found an “increase in consumer willingness to try a spiced drink” and that raspberry was selected more than 5 million times in its Freestyle beverage machines in 2022, which the company “often uses as inspiration” for new flavors, according to Sue Lynne Cha, the company’s vice president of marketing for North America.

“Consumers are looking for bolder flavors and more complex flavor profiles,” Cha previously told . “That’s a trend we started to see in food but also in drinks, and we thought it was a unique space for us.”

Coca-Cola does not break out sales of its individual flavors, and the drink was not mentioned in the company’s most recent earnings call. Coca-Cola’s second-quarter net income rose 2.9%, but the company’s sales volumes in North America, where Spiced was sold, fell 1%.

Spiced isn’t the only flavor being removed. On social media, the company confirmed that it is ending production of Cherry Vanilla, which launched in 2020, and Diet Coke with Splenda. It is part of a broader reduction of its drinks portfolio that began four years ago and saw the end of 200 drinks, including Tab, AHA Sparkling Water and Odwalla.

Consumers are shifting their preferences from sugary soft drinks to sparkling water and hydration drinks. In response, the company is growing its Topo Chico water line and expanding its BodyArmor brand.