Coca-Cola will launch a version of its signature drink in the US made with cane sugar days after Donald Trump said he had spoken to the company about the move.
The iconic beverage is sweetened with cane sugar in Mexico but has been made with high-fructose corn syrup in the US since the 1980s to save costs.
However many US consumers, including Mr Trump, believe the Mexican version tastes better.
The US president, known to be a big lover of both Coke and its diet variety, posted on his Truth Social platform last week that he had been “speaking to Coca-Cola about using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so”.
He added: “I’d like to thank all of those in authority at Coca-Cola. This will be a very good move by them – You’ll see. It’s just better!”
Coca-Cola didn’t confirm the move at the time but said it would share details on new products soon.
In an earnings release this morning, the company said a version of its flagship drink made with US cane sugar would be available on the American market later this year, Sky News’ US partner network NBC News reports.
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The drink will complement Coca-Cola’s existing product line in the United States, the company added.
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Meanwhile, Coca-Cola chairman and chief executive James Quincey said in a conference call with investors today that the move shows the company is expanding its product range “to reflect consumer interest in differentiated experiences”.
He added: “We appreciate the president’s enthusiasm for our Coca-Cola brand.
“This addition is designed to complement our strong core portfolio and offer more choice across occasions and preferences.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment after the Coca-Cola announcement.
In the US, Coca-Cola made with cane sugar is colloquially known as “Mexican Coke” as it is often imported into the country from its southern neighbour.
Sky News’ US correspondent Martha Kelner is one of those who prefers the so-called “Mexican” variety.
She told the Trump 100 podcast last week: “In support of the president of the United States on a very important issue… Coke in Mexico is way better than Coke in the US, there’s no doubt about it.”
Coca-Cola in the UK and other European nations is mostly sweetened with beet sugar but some cane sugar is also used, the company said in 2011.
Is sugar-switch a ‘MAHA’ move?
The Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) initiative has pushed food companies to alter their formulations to remove ingredients such as artificial dyes.
A report by the MAHA Commission, a panel convened by Trump and tasked with identifying the root causes of chronic disease, has earlier said substantial consumption of high-fructose corn syrup could play a role in childhood obesity and other conditions.
However, while taste preferences may differ, the health impact of cane sugar and high-fructose corn syrup is reported to be essentially the same.
Mr Kennedy has been critical of the amount of sugar consumed in the American diet and has said that updated dietary guidelines released this summer will advise Americans to eat “whole food”.
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Trump’s Coke habit
The US president reinstated his Diet Coke button to the Oval Office when he returned to the White House for a second term in January.
He presses it to order a delivery to his desk.
In 2012, Mr Trump wrote on social media that Diet Coke “makes you happy”.
During the same year he wrote on Twitter, now called X, that the “Coca Cola company is not happy with me – that’s okay, I’ll still keep drinking that garbage”.
More than a decade later in January this year, Mr Quincey travelled to Mr Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and presented him with a custom bottle commemorating his upcoming inauguration.
