Coke to Launch Chinese Herb Drinks
Every so often, Coca-Cola decides to concoct some sort of new variation of its tried and tested Classic formula to give drinkers a slight, and often sickening, new taste. Usually, these varieties are released with an abundance of corporate fanfare but never stick around long enough to be anything other than an answer to a trivia question. In my lifetime, there was the original Vanilla Coke, a concept drink that was supposed to launch in 1982 and got canned, no pun intended, before ever reaching the public. Then in 1985, there was New Coke, the drink so sweet and tasty it would make drinkers forget all about that original formula. Not only did no one forget about the original formula following New Coke’s release, but drinkers begged Coke executives to go back to the original recipe. Within three months, Coca-Cola gave in and 22 years later, New Coke is still viewed as one of the great marketing blunders in the history of American consumerism. Then there was the regrettable TaB Clear in the early 90s which lasted about a month until Coke realized that nobody even drank the opaque form of TaB. And recently, there was the Coca-Cola Black Cherry Vanilla, discontinued this summer after less than a year, perhaps for having too many flavors attached to the brand name. Well Coke is at it again, concocting a new line of drinks that will appeal to the world’s Eastern sensitivities, drinks that will have us believe we are healing ourselves despite ingesting large quantities of high fructose corn syrup. MarketWatch reported Sunday that the Coca-Cola Company has opened a new research center in Beijing that will partner with the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences to develop drinks based on Chinese herbal ingredients and formulas. While these drinks may taste like dirt, they promise to align your yin and yang, strengthen your spiritual core and perhaps bring some much needed feng shui to your refrigerator. Coke’s VP said the drinks will connect the company’s global reach and marketing with Chinese medicine’s “more holistic view on health.” The presdient of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences said of the collaborative center, “we will be much more effective in bringing Chinese medicine to the world through packaged beverages.” Who knew you could find your qi in a 12-ounce can of liquid sugar?
•MarketWatch: Coke to Develop Drinks Based on Chinese Herbs
•Photo: whocaresinternational’s Flickr Page