Coca-Cola said Tuesday it will add a cane-sugar version of its trademark cola to its U.S. lineup this fall, confirming a recent announcement by President Donald Trump. Trump said in a social media post last week that Coca-Cola had agreed to use real cane sugar in its flagship product in the U.S., which has been sweetened with high fructose corn syrup since the 1980s. Coke confirmed the new product Tuesday when it announced its second-quarter financial results. Coca-Cola reported better-than-expected earnings as higher prices overcame weaker sales volumes. Case volumes fell 1% globally and 1% in North America, but Coke said pricing was up 6% for the April-June period.
The debate over whether Coca-Cola should use high-fructose corn syrup or cane sugar in its signature cola obscures an important fact: Consumers are increasingly looking for Coke with no sugar at all. Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, which was introduced in 2017, uses both the artificial sweetener aspartame and the natural sweetener stevia in its recipe. It's one of Coca-Cola's fastest-growing products. The scrutiny over Coke's sweeteners began Wednesday, when President Donald Trump announced that the Atlanta company had agreed to switch to using cane sugar in the version of its trademark beverage made in the U.S. Coca-Cola didn't confirm the change, but it defended high fructose corn syrup in a social media post on Thursday.
