As a spin-off of the old Coke versus Pepsi debate, the Diet Coke versus Diet Pepsi debate has been growing as of late. In the United States, as more people are looking for an easy way to cut calories in their diet and fight obesity in a small way, the big soda companies are revamping their diet brands. For example, a new Diet Pepsi ad campaign plays on a new study stating that states that the majority of people believe that Diet Pepsi has more of a true cola taste than Diet Coke. Coca-Cola, on the other hand, has yet to directly respond to the new Diet Pepsi ad. Instead, Coca-Cola has introduced a few new products in the last few years that will directly compete with both Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi. The new Coke products include Diet Coke Plus and Coke Zero.
Of course, the whole debate comes down to taste. People usually fall into one of several categories: hardcore cola drinkers who think that all sodas with the “diet” label taste horrible, drinkers who are loyal to either Coke or Pepsi products, soda addicts who are addicted to either Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi (in my experience, I’ve found that more people are addicted to Diet Coke than Diet Pepsi), and last but not least, switch-hitters – people who have no true soda preference. The new Diet Pepsi campaign and the new Coca-Cola dietetic products all aim to capture a larger market and provide people with more options.
Let’s start with the new Coca-Cola products. Coke Zero is a hit. There is very little difference in taste between Coke Zero and regular, old-fashioned Coke. Quite frankly, Coke Zero improves on both Diet Coke and Coke. Coke Zero isn’t nearly as sweet as Coke, without resorting to a watered-down taste that many regular soda drinkers complain about with regular Coke. At the same time, you get the benefit of not incurring empty calories. Diet Coke Plus, which was introduced earlier this year, is Diet Coke infused with vitamins. The taste is not good, and a simple multivitamin will give you 100% of the recommended daily vitamins. You’d have to drink at least six Diet Coke Pluses a day to get the same vitamins. In the family of Diet Coke products, your best bet is to stay with regular Diet Coke, one of the many flavor options, or try Coke Zero. There truly is something for everyone.
So where does Diet Pepsi fit in? Over the last few years, Pepsi added new flavors to both the regular Pepsi and Diet Pepsi lines. The addition of the flavors was belated to Coke’s offerings, and Pepsi’s version of the lemon, lime, and vanilla flavors did not receive the same great response as did Coke’s. In retrospect, Pepsi added too much of the flavoring and the taste was just not there. It appears that once again, Pepsi is belatedly responding to Coke’s move. In response, Pepsi has decided to play upon a new study that finds that soda drinkers find that Diet Pepsi has more of a true cola taste than Diet Coke. Instead of directly competing with Coke Zero, Pepsi has decided to convince soda drinkers that Diet Pepsi already taste similar to Pepsi. Unfortunately, they are wrong. It simply doesn’t. Add that to the fact that Diet Pepsi has an aftertaste, and Coca-Cola wins yet another round. If you are in the market for a truly great tasting soda without a single calorie, Diet Coke or Coke Zero is your best bet. Diet Coke was the first diet soda on the market after the horrible tasting Tab, and it is still the best.
