Where is Coke C2?

October 19, 2005 6:19 PM

What happened to Coca-Cola C2?

I really liked C2- I hate diet drinks with artifical sweetners, but regular cola is too sweet. I know Coke just came out with the new Coke Zero (another diet drink, boo), but did they totally discontinue C2? I haven't seen it for awhile in the supermarkets I frequent...

posted by ThePinkSuperhero to Food & Drink (24 answers total)

Best answer: From the almighty Wiki

"C2's future is uncertain due to disappointing sales. Pepsi has announced it will discontinue its comparable low-carb product, Pepsi Edge, by the end of 2005. The subsequent introduction of Coca-Cola Zero on June 2005 added additional speculation that C2 may suffer the same fate as Edge."

My guess it didn't have the chutzpa to last.
posted by edgeways at 6:24 PM on October 19, 2005

Weird - I like Coke Zero but now I can't find it in the supermarkets around Greenwich Village. If you have it out in Astoria I'll trade! Anyway, if you haven't tried Pepsi Blue Coke Zero, it's not as sweet as Diet Coke or the Splenda version thereof, and the aftertaste is minimal.
posted by nicwolff at 6:25 PM on October 19, 2005

Here's a little on coke zero, there might be something about c2 among the discussions (a discussion board on soft drinks...who knew?)

I found that site when I googled coke zero being discontinued. All of a sudden I couldn't find it anywhere. But yesterday they were restocked. Thank god, I love me some coke zero.
posted by justgary at 6:33 PM on October 19, 2005

I actually liked C2. It didn't have the cloying aftertaste of the n.American corn-based Coke.
posted by scruss at 6:35 PM on October 19, 2005

I was going to suggest Bevnet, but justgary beat me to it. So here is their thread on C2.

Lots of insiders on that board. (Where "insider" means people who take deliveries in convenience and grocery stores.) It's interesting to read how products are rolled out and back. Different assortments of sizes are distributed by different regional bottlers. Sometimes something may only be available in 20 oz size, which is why you won't be able to buy it in the supermarket at all.
posted by smackfu at 6:41 PM on October 19, 2005

I was liking C2 also. Bummer. Not crazy about the Zero.

On a side note, is it just me, or is that "1 in 12 wins a free Coke" a load of crap. I actually began saving the losing lids just to keep track. I had a bundle before I won a free 1-liter bottle.

Now, I'm trying to find a 1-liter bottle. I'm pretty sure they don't exist.
posted by etc. at 7:28 PM on October 19, 2005

Thanks for the BevNet thread. When I was in Nashville I could find Diet Coke with Splenda almost everywhere. In Boston, I've only seen it one place and then without any regularity. Now I can get the inside scoop.
posted by aaronh at 7:53 PM on October 19, 2005

I tried the C2, liked it, but then went straight to diet Coke. I wonder if there are any statistics to show that others did so as well....(now a diet coke fiend, but whatever.)
posted by konolia at 7:57 PM on October 19, 2005

I like Coke Zero, but what's the difference between it and Diet Coke? Zero claims to have 0 sugar and 0 calories - but isn't that also true of Diet Coke?
posted by aclevername at 8:14 PM on October 19, 2005

Diet Coke is really Diet New Coke. (Diet Coke came first, though.) Coke Zero is a no-calorie version of Coca-Cola Classic.
posted by dhartung at 8:21 PM on October 19, 2005

Actually, dhartung, if I recall correctly, Diet Coke was a new beverage designed from the ground up (rather than taking the regular product and substituting sweetner for sugar). Then New Coke was basically Diet Coke with sugar substituted for the sweetner.
posted by winston at 8:34 PM on October 19, 2005

Diet Coke was never meant to taste like regular Coca-Cola Classic. While Diet-Pepsi tries to emulate the taste of regular Pepsi, same for Dr. Pepper, etc., Diet Coke was marketed as a flavor all its own. COKE ZERO is Coke's first attempt at a diet Coca-Cola Classic in an attempt to mirror the taste of its flagship drink. COKE ZERO comes much closer to emulating the "real thing" than any of its competition attempts at doing the same.

-
posted by Independent Scholarship at 8:56 PM on October 19, 2005

I thought C2 tasted like ass. IMHO.
posted by zardoz at 8:58 PM on October 19, 2005

Coke Zero uses both Nutrasweet and Ace-K. Nowadays they prefer to use blends of artificial sweeteners because you get less of both aftertastes, maybe to the point where they're unnoticeable. Yet since they can't touch Diet Coke in any way, they have to create a whole new soda to use a blend. Same basic idea with Diet Coke w/ Splenda.
posted by smackfu at 9:10 PM on October 19, 2005

Coke Zero = Coke Lite (european Diet Coke) different formulation. Check out the wikipedia article for far too much information.
posted by blue_beetle at 9:14 PM on October 19, 2005

FWIW, in the UK we get Diet Coke, which I'm assuming is the same as the US version. We also get Coke Light imported from mainland Europe into some of the smaller shops here. I'm interested to read blue_beetle's comment, because I've always thought that Light tasted much more like regular Coke. It's nice for a change sometimes, but I think I prefer Diet.
posted by viama at 12:29 AM on October 20, 2005

Now, I'm trying to find a 1-liter bottle. I'm pretty sure they don't exist.

Not to hijack this thread completely, but has anyone actually seen a 1-l bottle for sale? I haven't, at least not in California.
posted by swordfishtrombones at 5:34 AM on October 20, 2005

Not to hijack this thread completely, but has anyone actually seen a 1-l bottle for sale? I haven't, at least not in California.

They're available everywhere in MN. While I enjoy the price/oz ratio, they almost always have this really large opening that's uncomfortable to drink out of. It probably has the same diameter as a half-dollar.

Now, a half-dollar - There's something I haven't seen in a long time.
posted by unixrat at 6:53 AM on October 20, 2005

has anyone actually seen a 1-l bottle for sale?

A one-liter bottle of what?
posted by jjg at 6:54 AM on October 20, 2005

swordfishtrombones: Look at a convenience store or gas station; that's the only place I've seen one liter soda bottles.
posted by jmcmurry at 7:27 AM on October 20, 2005

I switched from Diet Coke to Coke Zero a few months ago. It's more expensive, as Sam's Club doesn't sell 24 packs of Coke Zero, but the taste difference makes up for it.

For a while I was on Lime Diet Coke, as the lime flavoring covered most of the aftertaste, and it was quite refreshing.

I tried C2 for a bit when it first came out, but it seemed too syrupy to me.
posted by thanotopsis at 8:23 AM on October 20, 2005

Hmm... I wonder if the supermarkets in Berwyn, Il. still have it. I know that just a couple months ago, you could get it (my da's a diabetic, so he tends to be up on the diet options), but since I don't live there, I can't just hop on down. I do know that the Jewel-Osco there still sold Coke (not classic) the last time I looked for it, and it was one of the last markets in America to do so. They kept it going there for far, far longer than the rest of the country.
posted by klangklangston at 8:28 AM on October 20, 2005

I live in Los Angeles, and they sell 1-liter bottles of soda at every 7-11 I've been in. And, I have a little collection of winner caps that I keep forgetting to take with me to the store.
posted by clh at 10:33 AM on October 20, 2005

Regarding "Drink Coke / Play Again":

My odds seem to have been close to the advertised 1/6, though I haven't counted.

Try not to touch the inside of a winning cap: the ink smears pretty easily. The contrast of black on dark purple is hard enough to read anyway.

1L bottles are a little harder to find, but some Walgreens, 7/11, etc. have them.

I've half-expected some stores to not know what to do with the winning caps, or just turn them down outright, but had no problems.

P. S. Exclusive Pepsi arrangements with universities and restaurants are evil. Diet Pepsi has many household uses, but drinking ain't one of them.
posted by kurumi at 10:52 AM on October 20, 2005