Coca-Cola Chairman and CEO James Quincey says the company will “expand our trademark Coca-Cola product range with U.S. cane sugar” to give Coke fans a new option. President Donald Trump mentioned the plan last week, saying Coca-Cola had “agreed” to use real cane sugar, similar to its recipe for Mexican Coke.
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Coke drinkers who want to avoid corn syrup sometimes opt for Mexican Coke, which is made with cane sugar. But soda fans will have a new option this fall, when Coca-Cola says it will launch “an offering made with U.S. cane sugar.”
The company announced the change in the quarterly earnings report it released Tuesday. On a conference call with analysts, Coca-Cola Chairman and CEO James Quincey said the company plans “to expand our trademark Coca-Cola product range with U.S. cane sugar to reflect consumer interest in differentiated experiences.”
Quincey said the new offering would “complement” Coca-Cola’s core portfolio of drinks, suggesting it could arrive as an alternative, rather than a replacement, for its flagship Coke product.
Coca-Cola’s move comes a week after the White House issued a statement by President Trump saying he had been talking to the soft drink giant about using cane sugar rather than high-fructose corn syrup in its signature drink.
“I’d like to thank all of those in authority at Coca-Cola. This will be a very good move by them — You’ll see. It’s just better!”
Trump is a noted fan of Diet Coke, a product line that is mainly sweetened with the artificial sweetener aspartame.
The president’s involvement in the recipe of a popular drink was noted in Tuesday’s call, but officials did not go into detail about what, if any, communications they had with the White House.
“As you may have seen last week, we appreciate the president’s enthusiasm for our Coca-Cola brand,” Quincey said.
The use of domestic sugar aligns with Trump’s economic priorities, as he has imposed steep tariffs on dozens of foreign nations. The source of the sugar could also affect the drink’s cost: The U.S. sugar industry enjoys substantial market protections against foreign rivals.
“The U.S. has high trade barriers against imported sugar,” as NPR’s Scott Horsley has reported. “As a result, the price of sugar in this country is usually about twice what it is on the world market.”
