New Coke stirred up a controversy when it replaced the original Coca-Cola in 1985. Coca-Cola Classic was reinstated within a few months of New Coke's introduction into the market.
In 1985, Coca-Cola, amid much publicity, attempted to change the formula of the drink. Some authorities believe that New Coke, as the reformulated drink was called, was invented specifically to respond to its commercial competitor, Pepsi. Double-blind taste tests indicated that most consumers preferred the taste of Pepsi (which has more lemon oil, less orange oil, and uses vanillin rather than vanilla) to Coke.
New Coke was reformulated in a way that emulated Pepsi. Follow-up taste tests revealed that most consumers preferred the taste of New Coke to both Coke and Pepsi. The reformulation was led by the then-CEO of the company, Roberto Goizueta, and the President Don Keough.
It is unclear what part Woodruff played in the reformulation.
Goizueta claims that Woodruff endorsed it a few months before his death in 1985; others have pointed out that, as the two men were alone when the matter was discussed, Goizueta might have misinterpreted the wishes of the dying Woodruff, who could speak only in monosyllables.
It has also been alleged that Woodruff might not have been able to understand what Goizueta was telling him.
The commercial failure of New Coke therefore came as a grievous blow to the management of the Coca-Cola Corporation.
It is possible that customers would not have noticed the change if it had been made secretly or gradually, and thus brand loyalty could have been maintained. Coca-Cola management was unprepared, however, for the nostalgic sentiments the drink aroused in the American public; some compared changing the Coke formula to rewriting the American Constitution.
The new Coca-Cola formula subsequently caused a public backlash.
Gay Mullins, from Seattle, Washington, USA, founded the Old Coke Drinkers of America organisation, which attempted to sue the company, and lobbied for the formula of Old Coke to be released into the public domain. This and other protests caused the company to return to the old formula under the name Coca-Cola Classic on July 10, 1985.
The company was later accused of performing this volte-face as an elaborate ruse to introduce a new product while reviving interest in the original. The company president responded to the accusation by declaring: "We are not that stupid, or that smart."
The Coca-Cola Company is the world's largest consumer of natural vanilla extract. When New Coke was introduced in 1985, the economy of Madagascar crashed - vanilla being a prime export - and recovered only after New Coke flopped, since New Coke used vanillin, a less-expensive synthetic substitute. Purchases of vanilla more than halved during this period.
Meanwhile, the market share for New Coke had dwindled to only 3% by 1986. The company renamed the product "Coke II" in 1990, but sales falloff caused a severe cutback in distribution. By 1998, it was sold in only a few places in the Midwestern U.S.
In 1985, Coca-Cola, amid much publicity, attempted to change the formula of the drink. Some authorities believe that New Coke, as the reformulated drink was called, was invented specifically to respond to its commercial competitor, Pepsi. Double-blind taste tests indicated that most consumers preferred the taste of Pepsi (which has more lemon oil, less orange oil, and uses vanillin rather than vanilla) to Coke.
New Coke was reformulated in a way that emulated Pepsi. Follow-up taste tests revealed that most consumers preferred the taste of New Coke to both Coke and Pepsi. The reformulation was led by the then-CEO of the company, Roberto Goizueta, and the President Don Keough.
It is unclear what part Woodruff played in the reformulation.
Goizueta claims that Woodruff endorsed it a few months before his death in 1985; others have pointed out that, as the two men were alone when the matter was discussed, Goizueta might have misinterpreted the wishes of the dying Woodruff, who could speak only in monosyllables.
It has also been alleged that Woodruff might not have been able to understand what Goizueta was telling him.
The commercial failure of New Coke therefore came as a grievous blow to the management of the Coca-Cola Corporation.
It is possible that customers would not have noticed the change if it had been made secretly or gradually, and thus brand loyalty could have been maintained. Coca-Cola management was unprepared, however, for the nostalgic sentiments the drink aroused in the American public; some compared changing the Coke formula to rewriting the American Constitution.
The new Coca-Cola formula subsequently caused a public backlash.
Gay Mullins, from Seattle, Washington, USA, founded the Old Coke Drinkers of America organisation, which attempted to sue the company, and lobbied for the formula of Old Coke to be released into the public domain. This and other protests caused the company to return to the old formula under the name Coca-Cola Classic on July 10, 1985.
The company was later accused of performing this volte-face as an elaborate ruse to introduce a new product while reviving interest in the original. The company president responded to the accusation by declaring: "We are not that stupid, or that smart."
The Coca-Cola Company is the world's largest consumer of natural vanilla extract. When New Coke was introduced in 1985, the economy of Madagascar crashed - vanilla being a prime export - and recovered only after New Coke flopped, since New Coke used vanillin, a less-expensive synthetic substitute. Purchases of vanilla more than halved during this period.
Meanwhile, the market share for New Coke had dwindled to only 3% by 1986. The company renamed the product "Coke II" in 1990, but sales falloff caused a severe cutback in distribution. By 1998, it was sold in only a few places in the Midwestern U.S.