Diet Cherry Coke is returning to US shelves 5 years after being discontinued
If you’ve ever made a visit to the States, you’ll be well aware that our American cousins go big. Whether it’s a car, a supermarket aisle, or a restaurant dinner, you can all but guarantee it’ll be needlessly massive.
Not only that, but the sheer range of products over there is mind-bending. Their confectionary and snack aisles in particular absolutely sweep our supermarkets aside in the inventory Olympics.
But even with their maximalist attitude to all things everything, and their less-strict approach to food safety, there are some treats that we can get in the UK that aren’t available in the US.
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The humble McDonald’s Snack Wrap is one, with the much-loved menu item making a return to US menus next month after a near-decade-long absence.
Another absentee making a return in the near future is Diet Cherry Coke.
In the UK it’s sold as Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Cherry so perhaps there’s a slight favour difference, but the upshot is that Diet Cherry Coke is returning to US shelves for a hit of 80s nostalgia.
With confirmation provided to People by a Coca-Cola spokesperson, it seems the drinks will be back very soon indeed.
It will reportedly be available for a limited run from mid-July. For some added exclusivity, it’ll only be available at Kroger-owned stores including City Market, Dillons, Food 4 Less, Metro Market, and Pick’n Save.
The cherry-flavoured twist on Diet Coke first hit the US in 1986, not long after both the disaster of New Coke and the success of Cherry Coke.
It’s been absent from US shelves for a little while now, with Today saying stocks ran dry sometime between 2018 and 2020.
There’s online speculation suggesting the relaunched Diet Cherry Coke will tap into nostalgia by coming packaging in ‘retro’ packaging hearkening back to its 80s heyday.
“While we are unable to share a photo of this release at this time, we can confirm the can and bottle design are nearly identical to the late-80's design seen here,” said a SodaSeekers Instagram post from January speculating on the then-unannounced return.
And soda drinkers appear to be nearly as excited about the return of the ultra-’80s packaging as they are about the diet drink itself.
“Keep them classic looking,” said an excited comment on that post. “No need to update these from simpler times.”
It does look pretty great. Here’s hoping the revival makes its way across the Atlantic, too.
Rachael Davis