It isn’t every day that I have to email one of my beverage PR contacts to ask about a statement made by the holder of the highest office in the land. (If there’s any justice in the world, I won’t ever have to do it again.) Earlier this month, the President stated on social media that Coca-Cola had agreed to use “REAL” cane sugar in Coca-Cola produced for America. Is that actually happening? We’ve got the truth you’re looking for.
Is Coca-Cola replacing high-fructose corn syrup with cane sugar?
No! If you thought Coca-Cola was going to let one of the most partisan presidents in history announce a change to the formula of the most popular soft drink on the planet, you’ve got another thing coming. Ignoring all the marketing and logistical reasons this announcement was never actually true, I’m not sure America produces enough cane sugar to meet the demand an immediate 100% swap would take.
Oh, and while we’re at it, you know how those tall glass bottle Cokes are called “Mexican Cokes” because they’re made with cane sugar? Here’s a twist for you: Certain Mexican Coca-Cola bottlers moved to high-fructose corn syrup in 2013 after a sugar tax went into law—and studies found other bottlers had been using corn syrup even before that. As far as I can tell, the only Coke that Mexico produces with 100% cane sugar is exported to America.
What’s the difference between cane sugar and high-fructose corn syrup?
Not much, y’all. Blind taste-tests have made it pretty clear people can’t actually taste the difference between the two in Coke. The technical answer is there’s a 5% difference in the ratio between fructose and glucose. The government shouldn’t be nitpicking the kind of sugar we are consuming en masse; the issue is that we are consuming too much sugar. To me, arguing about corn syrup vs cane sugar feels like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Let’s tackle the root issue instead of getting stuck in a minor detail that truly isn’t the problem.
Is Coca-Cola doing anything with cane sugar?
Coca-Cola does offer a cane sugar version of their standard cola in many markets at certain times of the year; the yellow-capped Coca-Cola variant, also known as “Kosher Coke,” is produced to adhere to strict dietary rules during Passover.
Additionally, a few days after the unofficial statement by the President (and the official follow-up from Coca-Cola that boiled down to, “Wait, he said what?”), we did get a hint at a new product announcement from Coke. As part of a larger earnings report, the brand announced an addition to their Coca-Cola product lineup coming later this year that would be sweetened with cane sugar rather than high-fructose corn syrup. We’ll keep you posted on that when more information is available.
