Posted on: Tuesday, April 16, 2002

Coca-Cola welcomes vanilla to its lineup of soft drinks

Associated Press

ATLANTA — Ending months of speculation, Coca-Cola said yesterday it will launch a vanilla-flavored version of its flagship soft drink nationwide May 15. The soda will be available in Canada later this year.

Vanilla Coke is a line extension of Coca-Cola, to be available in the same bottle and can configurations, and for the same prices as Coke.

"There seems to be a lot of consumer interest in the notion of vanilla right now," said Chris Lowe, Coke's senior vice president of worldwide brands and marketing. "When we put it in a product form, the consumers came away and said 'This tastes super.' "

Also yesterday, Coke said it will redesign the packaging of its Cherry Coke brand, which it introduced in 1985. Coke also produces a Diet Coke with lemon.

With Vanilla Coke, the company is seeking to replicate the success of rival PepsiCo's Code Red, a red version of its Mountain Dew soda. Analysts say such line extensions offer a relatively easy method of enhancing sales.