Tab

TaB is a diet cola. It was the first diet soft drink brand produced by the Coca-Cola Company. It was introduced in 1963 and has been reformulated several times. It was initially sweetened with cyclamate. After the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a ban on cyclamate in 1969, saccharin was used. In 1977, the FDA moved to ban saccharin. The ban proposal was rejected by the U.S. Congress, but it did require that all products containing saccharin carry a warning label that saccharin may cause cancer. In the year 2000, Bill Clinton lifted this requirement. A formula revision in 1984 blended saccharin with a small amount of aspartame; this is the formula that is currently marketed in North America. TaB sales have been dwarfed by those of Diet Coke, though enough people still prefer TaB to keep it in production.
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History

TaB was the second diet soft drink, after Diet-Rite Cola, though the latter was initially sold as a diet aid, not as a mass-market product [1]; its popularity with the general public surprised its maker, Royal Crown Cola. Sensing a market niche, The Coca-Cola Company decided to develop its own diet cola. However, as the company had a long-standing policy of using the Coca-Cola name only on its flagship product, it developed the TaB brand instead. TaB was produced by Coca-Cola's Fanta division, headed by Fred Dickson.

The legend that TaB stands for Totally Artificial Beverage is unfounded and inaccurate ("natural flavors" are listed in the ingredients roster on each case, can and bottle). According to the Coca-Cola Web page, the beverage is called TaB because it helps people who keep tabs on what they consume. According to an Atlanta Magazine article published in May 1963, Coca-Cola's marketing research department used its IBM 1401 computer to generate a list of over 250,000 four-letter words with one vowel, adding names suggested by the company's own staff. The list was stripped of any words deemed unpronounceable or too similar to existing trademarks. From a final list of about twenty names, "TABB" was chosen, influenced by the possible play on words, and shortened to "TAB" during development, and designer Sid Dickens gave the name its familiar capitalization pattern ("TaB") in the logo he designed.

At the height of its popularity, the TaB name was briefly extended to other diet soft drinks, including TaB Lemon-Lime and TaB Orange[2]. In 1993, Coca-Cola released Tab Clear in the US and UK, a curious move in the case of the latter as the original TaB was sold in the UK in the 1970s but was not a success. It was a clear cola that didn't taste very much like cola. It was withdrawn after less than a year, despite acquiring a number of devotees. TaB has of late become something of a cult beverage, with heavily dedicated drinkers. This is one of the few reasons TaB is still produced; its share of the national soft drink market is minuscule. Typically, TaB is now only found in supermarkets and convenience stores in 12-ounce cans, by 12-pack or 6-pack. It is also available in some places in two-liter bottles.

TaB Energy is an energy drink released in early 2006. Though sharing the brand name, TaB Energy does not taste like TaB. The drink is currently being marketed towards women.

Coca-Cola C2

Coca-Cola C2 (also referred to as Coke C2, C2 Cola, or simply C2) is a cola-flavored beverage introduced by The Coca-Cola Company first in Japan, then later on June 7, 2004 in the United States, in response to the low-carbohydrate diet trend. This new Coke product has half the carbohydrates, sugars and calories, compared to standard Coke. It contains aspartame, acesulfame potassium, and sucralose in addition to the high fructose corn syrup typically found in cola beverages distributed in America. It is a healthier option for those who prefer the taste of Coke to Diet Coke, with a taste very close to traditional Coca-Cola but only half the calories. Aside from the high fructose corn syrup, one 12-ounces can of Coca-Cola C2 contains 19 mg of aspartame, 4 mg of sucralose and 19 mg of acesulfame potassium. The packaging design differs from other Coke products in that fonts are printed in black. For marketing on radio and television, the Queen song "I Want to Break Free" was used. When it was first introduced though, the Rolling Stones song "You Can't Always Get What You Want" was used.

American sales did not live up to early expectations (due, mostly, to the decline of the low-carb fad, and, partly, to the success of Coca-Cola Zero, a zero-calorie version of Coca-Cola); however, Coca-Cola said the brand would remain in its line-up, even while Pepsi discontinued its equivalent product, Pepsi Edge, in late 2005, just one year after its introduction. Many store shelves completely replaced the product with Coca-Cola Zero due to display, shelving and storage limitations, and with the introduction of Coca-Cola Cherry Zero, the product disappeared from all store shelves where it had previously remained. An inquiry to the Coca-Cola company in February of 2007 revealed that only one bottler in the South Eastern United States still produced the product, and that it had been discontinued.

Coca-Cola Blāk

Type Coffee flavored Cola
Manufacturer The Coca-Cola Company
Country of Origin France
Introduced 2006
Related products BibiCaffe; Pepsi coffee drinks including Kona (Pennsylvania, 1994-1996), Tarik (Malaysia), Max Cappuccino (France, Finland, Norway, Ireland and the UK), and Cappuccino (India, Eastern Europe, Mexico, some Central American)

Coca-Cola Blāk is a coffee-flavored soft drink introduced by Coca-Cola in 2006. The mid-calorie drink was introduced first in France, before making its way to the United States and other markets. Despite the macron over the "a", its name is pronounced "black", not "blake".

Coca-Cola Blāk launched in the United States[1] on April 3, 2006. Coca-Cola Blāk launched in Canada on August 29, 2006[2] with an event staged in Toronto, Canada at Dundas Square offering free bottles of the product.[3] The drink has not yet found its way to the majority of shelves across these countries, and promotional campaigns, aimed mostly at young adults, are still under way.

The U.S. version of Coca-Cola Blāk is sweetened with high fructose corn syrup, aspartame and acesulfame potassium. The French and Canadian versions of Coca-Cola Blāk replace the high fructose corn syrup with sugar.

Consumer Reports taste-testers found the French version to be less sweet and to contain more coffee flavor.

The American and Canadian versions have a plastic resealable cap on a glass bottle that resembles the classic Coke bottle, whereas the French version is a bottle shape formed from aluminum, similar to a wine bottle.

Coca-Cola Blāk will be discontinued in the United States and Canada in early 2007, along with Black Cherry Vanilla.[citation needed] Both Coca-Cola Black Cherry Vanilla and BlāK (coffee flavored) were released in 2006.

Reception

Consumer reports on Coke Blak are divided. On one hand, many North Americans enjoy not only the taste of Coke Blak, but also the presentation and the price. However, others have found that the Coke flavor and the coffee flavor tend to separate resulting in somewhat of a "layered" drink. This often results in what many refer to as "a rather foul tasting beverage."[cite this quote] Some have noted that every other time they drink Coke Blak they experience a different taste. This is likely due to the flavor separation.