Coca-Cola quietly discontinues a classic soda flavor | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

When Coca-Cola makes a decision to cut a flavor, the company knows it will face backlash.

Back in 2020, when the company made the decision to kill its original diet soda, TaB, Coca-Cola likely expected negative consumer reactions, but perhaps not the organized effort to bring the brand back that has arisen.

“Save TaB Soda” has become a movement with a petition, protests, and letters delivered to Coca-Cola headquarters. The group behind it may not be large, but they’re impassioned.

“On October 16, 2020, the Coca-Cola Company announced they would discontinue TaB–their original diet cola — after 57 years of production. That’s where we come in. We’re TaB drinkers with a purpose. We’re the SaveTaBSoda Committee, and we’re working hard to convince Coca-Cola to reverse its decision to eliminate TaB,” the group shared on its website.

So far, those efforts have failed. Coca-Cola has ignored calls to bring back TaB, while it has revived other flavors such as Diet Cherry Coke.

Now, the beverage giant has very quietly ended production of another popular cola flavor without making any sort of official announcement.

Coca-Cola Orange Cream has been discontinued

When Coca-Cola introduced a new flavor, it rarely tells consumers if it’s intended to be a permanent addition, like Diet Cherry Coke, or a limited-time offer. That may be because the brand keeps its cards close to its vest.

If the new flavor sells well, it may be left in stores until demand subsides. If interest drops, the soda may be pulled, perhaps to bring it back later when the soda-loving audience notices it has been gone and demands its return.

In the case of its latest soda deletion, Coca-Cola has not made any sort of official statement, but it has stopped manufacturing Coca-Cola Orange Cream.

“Coca-Cola Orange Cream is no more! The new Coca-Cola Cherry Float variant will replace Coca-Cola Orange Cream on shelves,” the popular Soda Seekers Instagram page shared.

An article on Sporked confirmed the end of Coca-Cola Orange Cream, citing retailer resets and distribution changes.

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Followers on the social media page seemed mildly upset at the loss of the flavor.

“This was a solid flavor I will miss it personally,” wrote futakum007.

Others were surprised at the switch.

“Just to be replaced with basically Cherry Coke with a different label,” jessewright_ added.

Even Coca-Cola can only command so much shelf space.

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Coca-Cola explains why it eliminates soda flavors

In 2020, when it killed TaB, Coca-Cola trimmed its lineup, removing dozens of beverages.

At the time, Cath Coetzer, the company’s global head of innovation and marketing operations, explained its decision.

“This isn’t about paring down to a specific number of product offerings under our brands. The objective is to drive impact and growth. It’s about continuing to follow the consumer and being very intentional in deciding which of our brands are most deserving of our investments and resources, and also taking the tough but important steps to identify those products that are losing relevance and therefore should exit the portfolio,” she said in a press release.

In some cases, like its Odwalla juices and Zico coconut water brands, these decisions are likely permanent. For a flavor like Coca-Cola Orange Cream, or even TaB, the company could very well be removing it in order to bring it back later as a limited-time offering.

Soda economics are simple

“I got a lot of emails about TaB,” Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey told CNN Business.

Its end, however, came down to simple retail math, which is likely why Orange Cream Coca-Cola has been discontinued as well.

“In the end, it’s a Darwinian struggle for space in the supermarket or in the convenience store,” he said. “The retailer wants to make as many dollars as it can for each spot on the shelf. If a brand, even a beloved one, sells a fraction of what these other bottles will sell, eventually it will get pulled out.”

Absence, of course, makes the heart grow fonder, and when Coca-Cola brings back a discontinued flavor I used to like, it gets my attention and usually leads to a short-term sales spike.

That’s not all that different than Starbucks’ many seasonal offerings, or McDonald’s periodically bringing back the McRib.

Coca-Cola continually adjusts its portfolio

Coca-Cola also recently ended its Minute Maid line of frozen concentrates.

“Minute Maid frozen products will be discontinued in North America in the first quarter of 2026, with in-store inventory available when supplies last,” a Coca-Cola spokesperson told Food Dive.

“With the juice category growing strongly, we’re focusing on products that better match what our consumers want,” the spokesperson said.

Demand for juice from concentrate has fallen due to modern refrigeration.

Sjors Peters, global innovation marketing leader for beverages at IFF, believes that consumer perceptions around taste, naturality, and health have continued to drive demand for Not From Concentrate (NFC) over Frozen Concentrated Orange Juice (FCOJ), Food Ingredients First reported.

“The preference for NFC juice over FCOJ has also been accentuated by the lack of carryover from previous crops. One effect of higher NFC production has been a drastic reduction in the availability of orange essence oil,” he said.