Coke Zero Discontinued

What does everyone think of this?

After 11 years they're discontinuing Coke Zero permanently.
Keep an eye out for clearance sales.
It's being replaced by Coca-Cola No Sugar, which has a different blend of flavourings to taste more like real Coca-Cola with sugar.

They'll be having free samples for Coca-Cola No Sugar so be sure to inform the community here if you spot one.

I'll reserve judgement until I've tried the replacement, but I'd say this is a risky move. Coke Zero is pretty popular.
I'll miss the black packaging and labels.

The new one is now available in stores.

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Comments

  • +4

    I love all the comments on aspartame. Gives me nostalgia to think back to the days of chain emails.

    • +1

      The most amusing thing is, out of the last 10 conversations I've had where people have told me "the chemicals in coke are bad" (ie. aspartame), 9 out of 10 of those people have been smokers.

      I don't smoke and rarely drink, so if aspartame is the worst I can do to my body that's 110% fine with me.

  • +1

    Mmmm looking forward to vanilla coke no sugar. That being said, I previously quit all forms of soft drink for 8 years. I think it's time to quit again.

    Soda water here I come. That's definitely going to get some negatives :p

    • Diet Vanilla Coke is already available, but only in 600ml bottles at some service stations and other outlets; it's rather hard to find.
      They also had a small run of Vanilla Coke Zero some years ago, which was very good.

      • I don't understand mixing Vanilla with Coke. Every version I have ever tasted makes me want to throw up. On par with cough medicine.

        • The thing to mix with coke is Kahlua…

        • @dqb:

          I don't drink alcohol. Never acquired a taste for it. It too tastes awful to me. Got tired of spending money on something I couldn't stand then having to worry about whether or not I could drive in my 20s. I've never been drunk either. (Tried once but couldn't go through with drinking that stuff).

          My taste buds are fussy when it comes to drink. I don't like that they are, but it is what it is.

  • I have tried the new coke sugar free and no way does it taste like proper coke. İt has a very bitter/artificial taste to it. I never liked coke zero but this is worse

  • Too many studies linking coke zero to stroke and dementia, so they're overhauling with the 'new no sugar coke'.

    • +3

      Please supply links to these studies, assuming their actual scientific studies and not some crazy guys blog…

    • +2

      Have you read any of these studies? Or even a survey article summarizing each one? Please don't parrot unverified rubbish you read elsewhere.

      Hint when reviewing: Even plain water can kill you in a large enough amount so if the study you cite does a mouse with 20x as much of the stuff as you'd consume as a heavy soft drink indulger, walk away from the study.

    • Oh look another David Avocado Wolff follower.

  • +1

    The best diet cola is water. Try it.

  • Damn, i have to source for new toilet detergent now.

    • +1

      With enough cola in your system, your pee should be well able to eat away anything stuck to the toilet bowl!

  • +1

    Zero is getting shit-canned cos' Coca-Cola (Amatil) is slowly going downhill.

    • They'll pay for increased market share by buying some more brands.

  • +1

    Normal coke is a sign of the past. Sugar sugar and more sugar. It's a dying product
    Coke Life no one liked
    Coke Zero wasn't bad and gave people a semi guilt free hit of fizzy drink without the sugar. Strange they are removing it

    All in all, I don't think anyone will be sad when Coca Cola goes bust - but they probably still make way too much money for that - but give it another 10-15 years or so and let's see what happens

    • I rarely drink coke, but if I do it's the plain sugar variety. Moderation is the key.

  • Them taking Coke Zero I'm not fussed about.

    However, if they take away Vanilla Coke…that's a totally different story

  • -2

    Sadly, doesn't matter if you drink sugar/sugarless/stevia, its the bubbles that's slowly killing your teeth.

    • +1

      The acid is what's "killing" (eating away) your teeth. Phosphoric acid or citric or both.

      There's a reason you can shine silver coins by leaving them in coke for a day or two.

      • The last time thirdwill had a bubble bath, it dissolved his toenails!

        • I'd switch bubble bath then. And if it happens again see a doctor. Soap shouldn't met your toenail! By the way Soap is actually alkaline not acidic.

    • +1

      This is wrong.

      The danger is the phosphoric acid.

      While dissolved, the carbonic acid formed by the carbon dioxide is acidic, but the bubbles themselves are not.

      • +1

        What i meant is carbonating drinks is bad for your teeth enamel. I just used bubbles coz monday mornings shouldn't be so techical

  • +2

    I've been drinking Coke Zero for 8+ years (and a lot of it).

    I actually drink it for the flavour, I don't like diet coke and when I tried regular coke recently I found it way too sweet and struggled to drink it.

    What I suggest will happen is they'll release "no sugar" and run it in parallel for 6 months and then see how sales go. What I think is there will be a large jump initially as people try it and then it'll slump off.

    Based on how drinks are presented in fridges in shops and at the supermarket, the ratio of sales seems to be 40% coke, 40% zero, 20% diet - so cutting out one of their most popular products is a massive risk.

    Due to the massive risk I think the marketing/product people have no clue at all.

    ie. Coke Life - use Stevia, but only a little bit, so instead of 10 spoons of sugar you only get 6.

    Completely and utter disaster. The whole purpose of Stevia is to cut out sugar all together - if it has a different taste profile then so be it.

    What I think (hope) will happen is that sales will drop massively after the hype goes away and coke zero will remain. If not, I'll hire a warehouse and buy 10 years supply lol - or learn to like pepsi max as a protest (and it's also cheaper).

    • +1

      I'm a big zero drinker too and after seeing coke no sugar at coles today, it's extremely confusing as to whether it is the same recipe as zero

    • This is not about the Zero drinkers but the people that like full sugar Coke and the rising tide of sugar is evil stories hitting the media and Coke trying to find an alternative that fits both groups of customers.

      I'll give it a go

      • I'd agree - but if that was the case, why get rid of zero?

    • +1

      " I think the marketing/product people have no clue at all."

      And yet here we are, discussing Coca Colas new product, on the front page of Ozbargain, before it is even released.

      This is a calculated marketing play. There certainly isn't any economic reason to discontinue coke zero, I'm sure it sells better than many other brands they own. When is the last time you saw someone drinking a fanta?

  • +1

    I would prefer that they use Sucralose in place of Aspartame as I think aspartame tastes like arse.

    • +3

      Arspartame

    • Sucralose gives you the squirts

  • Have not tried the new one, but it will probably be the same as coke zero….

  • +3

    They should bring out standard coke with half the sugar. No artificial crap… it is slightly too sweet anyway

    • +1

      That's almost exactly what Coke with Stevia is

    • Good point. The 75c 1.25l Coles Orange & Mango drink is much nicer now they have halved the sugar.

    • +1

      have said that for years.. same goes for bundaberg ginger beer. I think you could cut it by more than 50% and it would still taste good.

      • It would taste better.

  • Blasphemy!

  • +1

    I think this is a great idea - I'm looking forward to a summer full of Coke marketing handing out free cans at every street corner and beach ;)

  • Recently read an interesting article that discussed the marketing of diet coke and coke zero. Apparently Coca-Cola only created coke zero because blokes weren't drinking diet.

  • +1

    Tried the new 'No Sugar' coke at work today (had samplings), still has an aftertaste, won't be drinking it again. I hardly drink coke anyway, and never liked the diet/sugarless varieties. Gave my 1.25l bottle to someone else who was happy to take it.

  • -2

    After this big push of fitness, gym & hot bodies, thanks to Facebook, Instagram & SnapChat, not many people have taken much favour of coke these days
    This is why the 36-pack is almost always on discount at Coles/Woolies. Coca Cola is losing business and they want to re-market it self

    • +2

      Coles and woolies don't sell 36 packs, and any variant size of Coke had always been on special at any given week at any supermarket. Cool story though .

      • +3

        This is the Internet. People don't care about the truth. It just gets in the way of a good rant. #alternatefact

  • The aftertaste of Coke Zero was bad. I preferred Diet Coke. Still a risky business move.

    • Agreed. It's horrible. Diet Coke's ok but I still prefer the Pepsi range myself.

      Go-to is Pepsi Max. Just tried the Vanilla version. Hmmmm. Unsure as yet.

  • +3

    Pepsi Max EVERY day!

    Well, not that I drink it every day….but you get my point. Pep Max > Coke 0

  • +3

    Pepsi Max clear winner of the sugar-free drinks.

    • Speak for yourself. I'd rather go thirsty than drink that.

  • Wouldn't it be better if they just named the new product Coke Zero Sugar instead.

  • huh! is this an entirely new product or just a sort of rebrand? there were a lot of videos I saw on Youtube disclosing that coke zero has a few amount of sugar as opposed to what Coca Cola is advertising

  • I enjoyed coke zero. Its my only order in a maccas meal too. I'm quite intolerant to sugar loaded soft drinks and the zero is the only fizzy drink I have straight these days. Can't drink regular coke anymore, the sweetness is overwhelming for me. so if this new iteration emulates the sweetness of regular coke, I'm switching to Pepsi Max.

  • +1

    Pepsi Max 4evr

  • I've tried both, can't tell the difference. The labeling is an interesting choice though. It's red with a small black band saying "no sugar". Very similar to the "full-strength" Coke label. If you're not careful, you can buy the wrong product.

  • No more soft drinks or liquids with artificial flavouring for me.

    Drink a juice instead!
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XDSpuMIMPs

  • That's crazy!

    Would be interesting to know what caused this decision to be made as it seems very popular (much more so than diet coke). And considering how terrible the recent green coke (life?) was, it's extremely gutsy to bank on the next version being as popular as coke zero.

    Either someone is having a stroke (to the benefit of pepsi max!), or they know something they are not telling us.

  • As others have noted, zero is being retired and "no sugar" is coming in with exactly the same ingredients. Im guessing the name "zero" perhaps is misleading or about to become a problem, as it implies absolutely ZERO something. Its probably better to say "no sugar" which is without any problems since it really has no sugar but some artificial sweetener.

    • Yes I think so too, the Zero name works and has market share, No Sugar isn't the same, it's chickish.

      I can't see why they would drop Zero unless lawyers are calling the shots.

  • +1

    Hey does anyone remember that TV segment where they found people addicted to coke/coke zero? It was a long time ago, and it might of been on A Current Affair (seems like something they'll report on)…

    I remembered they found a lady who drank about 4-5 2L bottles of coke zeros a day. Like.. she didn't even drink water… Her teeth was completely yellowed out and i think some were missing. And then the "good people" at A Current Affair helped her and 2 other people curb their coke addiction, I think they put them through a detox to get all that caffeine out of their system. It wasn't easy cause they were so used to the caffeine hit. Then they even paid for that lady's dental treatment to fill her teeth in and whiten it up, afterwards they helped teach her how to drink water instead. I don't know if she still kept at it afterwards though.

    I remember because that segment scared me, especially that lady… and I used to drink quite a bit of coke zero at the time and I was scared that I might turn out like her. lol…

    I hope that lady stuck with her recovery…. otherwise she'll probably end up having to swap to Coke no sugar….

  • It's never too late to quit soft drinks altogether

  • I tried it. It is definitely better than Coke Zero and it is definitely closer to real Coke; but only by an increment, maybe moving from 6/10 (Zero) to 7/10 (No Sugar) compared to baseline Coke at 10. There is still some metallic taste. It is fizzier.

  • Tastes way better than zero did. Just need a better (and more widely available) caffeine free one now.

  • +1

    Watch out for Reject shop / NQR for ridiculous coke zero clearances soon…..?

  • Tried it, tastes horrible. Will be stocking up on Zero.

  • Tried the no sugar variant the other day. It's got a stronger classic cola taste to it than Zero. The aftertaste of no sugar is definitely not as pleasing as classic coke's however. Definitely prefer no sugar to zero.

    Kinda regretting stocking up on woolworths e-gift cards now. They will not be selling coke no sugar, so I guess it's two trips to supermarkets - Coles and Woolies - everytime I do the shop until the egiftcards are used up. PITA. Sigh.

    • Same here. I did like the taste of Coke No sugar. Flavour is closer to Classic Coke than Zero.

  • I for one thing this is a mistake. I drink a lot of Coke Zero and having compared it with a few cans of Coke No Sugar I can taste the difference and prefer the old one by far.

    This will have me moving over exclusively to Diet Coke (no caffiene version) and Pepsi Max.

  • Has the time finally come?

    I'm noticing that coke zero is harder to buy….

    A lot more no sugar is being advertised in catalogues and in store…. Is it true, no more zero? Haven't seen anything official…..

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