‘It’s just better’ According to the U.S. President
Its appears Coca-Cola will be launching a cane-sugar soda this fall in the U.S. The beverage company announced its implementation in its second quarter earnings on Tuesday. This, according to Hannah Parker at Quartz.
The new product announcement comes nearly a week after President Donald Trump took to Truth Social Wednesday to declare Coca-Cola agreed to switch from high-fructose corn syrup to real cane sugar in its U.S. beverages. A bit of history . . . The Coca-Cola Company and other U.S. soft drink makers continue to use sugar in other countries but transitioned to high-fructose corn syrup for U.S. markets in 1980 before completely switching over in 1984.
This has little impact on myself as I rarely grab a Coca Cola sugar soda product. I am glad a U.S. president can negotiate such a deal as this. Of course, Coca Cola took a positive view of the United State President asking them to switch to cane sugar. The beverage company said in a press release on its earnings report that its new cane-sugar product will “expand its Trademark Coca-Cola product range” and is intended to “offer more choices across occasions and preferences.”
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has publicly criticized HFCS as “a formula for making you obese and diabetic,” and has urged food makers to remove what he calls “the worst ingredients” from their products. Nutritional experts generally agree sugar offers no significant health advantages over HFCS.
Of course, who is going to argue with the President of a major country about what is better than the other ingredient in soda.
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The other Quartz news of the day? GM lost $1.1 billion from Trump’s tariffs. The automaker expects the impact of tariffs to become more pronounced in the next quarter — totaling $4 to $5 billion for the full calendar year (2025).
The $1.1 billion in the second quarter comes from both direct and indirect effects. Some $800 million came from tariffs increasing the cost of car components and manufacturing materials. The other $300 million resulted from broader operating pressures caused by the tariffs — basically, second-order costs brought on by the disruption, staff time, and expense to do with compliance and regulatory navigation, etc.
Absent the $1.1 billion tariff impact, the company’s earnings would have been approximately $4.3 billion. That’s 34% higher than the reported $3.2 billion, implying tariffs cut potential by roughly a third.
I can’t recall the last time I had a Coke or a Pepsi. Has to be at least 30 years ago.
It has the interesting effect of favoring red state sugar producers over red state corn producers. Maybe Kansas and Iowa will take notice.
I’ve been known to have a coke with an Italian beef sandwich. Both are a treat, not a dietary staple.
Jack:
We always stop for a Chicago hot dog and Italian beef when we are in town. Hope all is well with you.
Hi, Bill. All’s well except for the government of the country, of course.
Jack:
At what point do Repubs begin to realize the danger Trump puts the nation and us in? They must know, they will be nothing in Trumps eyes. They are just being used . .
@Bill,
Certainly not until after midterms, when the BBB decisions take effect. The GOP Congressmen are paralyzed by Trump, and the GOP voters only think that teh swarthy people are the ones affected.
Joel:
We can still raise the alarm of the train coming to run them over. It is a ploy by Reoublicans
There has been a niche market for decades for Mexican soft drinks made with cane sugar, including Mexican bottled Coke. Typically these come in glass bottles, which also seems to be a part of the appeal. Not drinking alcohol in Wisconsin gets you frequently into social situations of ‘well we have some Coke or Sprite’ or Pepsi and Starry. Root beer for the nostalgics. The reported on trend of flights of artisanal waters hasn’t yet made it to my social circles.
I suspect that GM (and all of the other OEMs) will all be increasing their MSRPs for their vehicles, as very few will have 0 impact from tariffs. and the drive to have more domestic production will take a lot capital and time to implement, plus there will be a need to get supply chains set up for any products that are needed to be moved to US plants, if some OEMs are lucky, they might be able to just add to existing plants new product lines
I still think he was/is confusing sugar cane with cocaine
When you don’t drink sodas at all it don’t matter much what it’s made with. I note at the Mesoamerican outlet I frequently shop that Mexican Cokes cost more than the domestics two isles down. I used to buy Fanta Orange drinks but fear they’ve become so mass produced they’re no different than the rest
Of course, everything these days is mass produced …
@Ten,
The only soda I drink these days is tonic water as a mixer with gin. Years ago, I switched from Schweppes to Fever Tree. Schweppes is made with HFCS and Fever Tree with cane sugar. To me, the Fever Tree G&T is slightly dryer. YMMV.
The original version of Fanta was created in Nazi Germany during World War II. Due to trade embargoes, Coca-Cola could not import the necessary ingredients for its classic beverage, so the German Coca-Cola branch, led by Max Keith, developed Fanta as an alternative. The original Fanta was a fruit-flavored drink made with ingredients like whey and apple fibers. The orange flavor came later.
I gave up sugar in coffee and tea in college and stopped eating desserts about 20 years ago, so my sensation of sweetness is heightened. Most commercial salad dressings, BBQ sauces, ketchups and salsas have HFCS. It’s hard to avoid.
I don’t want to butt heads over this and I don’t know if it’s irony or bad knees but I get a chuckle over how he doesn’t even drink “Coke” ~ drinks Diet Coke, which is sweetened with the artificial sweetener aspartame