Brands: Re-doing Diet Coke

Diet Coke may have a legion of loyalists, but its sales are in a slump as health-conscious drinkers shift to water and other sparkling alternatives. Last quarter, Coca-Cola said Diet Coke’s volume sales in North America plunged by “mid-single digits.”

 Time for a revamp. In fact, it’s been two years in the making, as Ad Age reports. A slimmer can is being introduced, alongside four new flavors (although the stubby can we’ve known for years remains in the lineup and the original flavor isn’t being reformulated). Diet 

Coke also is moving on from its “glossy…superficial, skewing female” marketing and shifting to a more “authentic,” “gender neutral and diverse” approach, according to Rafael Acevedo, Coca-Cola North America group director for Diet Coke. Coca-Cola will be hoping to repeat the success of its Coke Zero relaunch, which was replaced with Coke Zero Sugar in the U.S. last year. It’s early days and was backed with lots of marketing and promotional pricing, but Coca-Cola said its third-quarter U.S. case volume for Coke Zero Sugar was at double the growth rate of the prior quarter.