This is the new Coca-Cola flavor that’s here to stay

(CNN) — Over the past few years, Coca-Cola has experimented with extravagant limited-time offers, but its latest flavor is the first permanent addition in a long time. Some say it is part of Coca-Cola’s effort to satisfy America’s changing tastes as well as demographics.

Coca-Cola Spiced is a new soft drink that combines Coca-Cola’s “iconic taste” with “refreshing raspberry notes and an explosion of spicy flavors,” the company announced this Wednesday. It will be available in sugar-added and sugar-free varieties when it hits stores in the US and Canada in the coming weeks.

Coca-Cola doesn’t often add new permanent flavors to its lineup: Spiced joins a few other flavors it’s always sold, including its flagship Cherry Vanilla flavor.

Spiced was selected because “it’s about staying on trend in the category and responding to the preferences of our consumers,” who want bolder, more powerful flavors, said Sue Lin, Coca-Cola’s vice president of marketing for North America. Cha told CNN.

Coca-Cola research found “consumers’ desire to drink spicy beverages has increased” and raspberry was selected more than 5 million times in its Freestyle beverage machines in 2022, which the company described as a “frequent source of inspiration” for new flavors. Uses as”, he said.

“Consumers are looking for bolder flavors and more complex flavor profiles. “It’s a trend we’ve started to see in food as well as beverages, and we thought it was a unique place to play,” he said, adding that there’s a “desire to explore” among those who want it. Is. try something new.

“Growth in sales of flavored sodas has generally outpaced colas for years, helped by a growing multicultural population,” said Duane Stanford, editor and publisher of Beverage Digest.

“It appears Coca-Cola wants to add that trend to its flagship product in hopes of getting younger consumers to consider a full-fledged franchise,” he told CNN.

Coca-Cola Spiced will be available for sale starting February 19 in a variety of cans and bottles at most national retailers.