Coke's Classic, Diet and Zero Sugar Brands Drive Soda Growth

Diet Coke, introduced in 1982, was not designed simply to mimic Coca-Cola.

Coca-Cola's Classic, Diet Coke and Zero Sugar brands continue to drive growth, with Zero Sugar recording the strongest volume gains. [Photo: Connor J Williams, Wikimedia Commons]

The company developed a distinct, smoother flavor for the low-calorie beverage, initially using saccharin as its sweetener. Coca-Cola later shifted Diet Coke primarily to aspartame.

Diet Coke's success helped inspire Coca-Cola's development of New Coke in 1985.

The reformulated drink was sweeter and was influenced by the results of extensive taste testing, but the product triggered a consumer backlash and the original formula returned 79 days later as Coca-Cola Classic.

Coca-Cola Zero was introduced in 2005 and was designed to provide a taste closer to the company's flagship Coca-Cola while avoiding the "Diet" branding.

Its U.S. formulation uses a blend of aspartame and acesulfame potassium (Ace-K).

Coca-Cola Zero Sugar now ranks behind Classic Coke and Diet Coke in some markets but is growing considerably faster.

In the second quarter of 2026, Coca-Cola reported 16% global unit-case growth for Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, compared with 7% growth for Diet Coke/Coca-Cola Light and 5% for Trademark Coca-Cola.

The strong performance of Coke's zero-sugar portfolio has helped strengthen the company's growth prospects and investor appeal.