ATLANTA — Tab will soon join Slice, Jolt and New Coke on the list of the sodas of yesteryear.
The Coca-Cola Company announced Friday it is discontinuing what was its first diet soda and other “underperforming products” by the end of the year.
Tab, a saccharine-sweetened cola initially targeted for women, was released in 1963 and developed a large fan base in the ‘70s and ‘80s. But it later lost its fizz with consumers due to increased competition. Coca-Cola eventually reduced its distribution to select markets, and, according to Fox Business, it accounted for less than 0.03% of the company’s sales as recently as 2017.
Nevertheless, it maintained a smaller but passionate fan base over the past couple of decades.
“If not for TaB, we wouldn’t have Diet Coke or Coke Zero Sugar,” Kerri Kopp, Coca-Cola’s Diet Coke group director said in a statement.
Coca-Cola said that by cutting some of its products it can focus on innovation and growing its other existing brands such as Minute Maid and Simply. Among the other nationally distributed drinks being axed are Zico coconut water, Coca-Cola Life, Diet Coke Feisty Cherry and Sprite Lymonade, as well as some regional and international brands.
“This isn’t about paring down to a specific number of product offerings under our brands,” said Cath Coetzer, Coca-Cola’s global head of innovation and marketing. “The objective is to drive impact and growth.”