We’ve gathered here to honor the dearly departed Coca-Cola Spiced, a soda that, if we’re being honest, no one around here loved. I’m not entirely proud of being the beverage equivalent of an ambulance-chasing lawyer, but my article reporting on the rumored discontinuation of Coca-Cola Spiced came out five days before CNN got Coca-Cola to confirm that Coke Spiced is no more. Did we push the needle? Are we cracking the combination to the safe of truth? Oh, you just want to hear about the soda. Right, moving on. Here’s more about the discontinuation of Coke Spiced and what’s coming next.
Didn’t Coke Spiced only just come out?
Correct! Coke Spiced (plus a zero sugar variant) was just released in February of this year. The first article reporting on the then-upcoming Coke Spiced went up here on Sporked last October, which means this soda was revealed through leaks, pushed to stores with a big marketing campaign, and now discontinued all in a year’s time. It lasted a few months longer than New Coke, but if that’s the nicest thing we can say about the lifespan of a soda… Woof.
Is something else going to replace Coca-Cola Spiced?
Per the statement given to CNN, Coca-Cola Spiced will be “phased out” to introduce a new flavor in 2025. The phrasing of “new flavor” implies something we haven’t seen before. But I have a more economical answer: Just keep making Sprite Chill.
I know reporting rumors back-to-back is risky business, but word on the street is that Sprite Chill is performing so well, it may be upgraded to permanent status. I’m not a mathematician, but “we have a limited-time flavor that’s overperforming and a permanent flavor that’s underperforming” seems like a pretty solvable problem. That said, while I do love Sprite Chill, it isn’t my #1 pick for what should take the slot of Coke Spiced on store shelves in 2025.
What should replace Coca-Cola Spiced?
Let me just quote myself from the Coca-Cola Creations ranking that went up here on Sporked in April of this year: “If you ask me, Coca-Cola Spiced should not exist. If they’re going to put an additional Coke flavor on shelves permanently, there’s only one answer: Coca-Cola Starlight.” Yes, Starlight, the first Coca-Cola Creations flavor, should return to shelves in place of Coke Spiced. When I first saw the design of Coke Spiced back in 2023 in all that pink-and-purple glory, I was hoping it was Coke Starlight in disguise. There’s still time to right this cosmic wrong. Coca-Cola, if you’re listening, please put Coke Starlight back where it belongs: on shelves.
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!