The encyclopedia · Product & Design · Product decision · 2006–2008
Coca-Cola Blak: a coffee-flavored cola that lasted two years
Coca-Cola launched a coffee-flavored mid-calorie soda in 2006. By 2008 it was gone — a product that pleased neither cola drinkers nor coffee drinkers.
The Coca-Cola Company · 2008
What happened
In 2006, Coca-Cola launched Coca-Cola Blak, a coffee-flavored cola positioned as a mid-calorie alternative to regular Coke. At 45 calories per 8-ounce serving (compared to 97 for Classic), it was sweetened with a mix of high fructose corn syrup, aspartame, and acesulfame potassium. The US version came in a glass bottle with a plastic resealable cap; the French version was packaged in an aluminum bottle.
The product was first introduced in France before launching in the United States on April 3, 2006, and in Canada on August 29, 2006. It was also sold in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Lithuania. The idea was to capture the coffee-and-cola crossover market — adults who wanted a caffeine boost with less sugar than regular soda.
Consumer Reports taste-testers found the US version less sweet and with less coffee flavor than the French version, which used sugar instead of artificial sweeteners. Sales were disappointing from the start. In August 2007, Beverage Digest reported that Coca-Cola would discontinue the drink within the US. By 2008, the product was gone from all markets. The entire lifecycle was about two years.
In 2010, Coca-Cola FEMSA released coffee dispenser machines in Mexico under the Blak brand, but the original soda never returned. In 2021, Coca-Cola launched 'Coca-Cola with Coffee' in the US — a different product that addressed some of the same goals without the mid-calorie compromise.
Why it happened
- The US version used artificial sweeteners to keep the calorie count low, which gave it a taste that Consumer Reports described as less sweet and less coffee-like than the French version.
- The product tried to occupy a middle ground between cola and coffee — it was too sweet for coffee drinkers and not sweet enough for cola drinkers, satisfying neither group.
- Coca-Cola invested heavily in a product that was a solution in search of a problem — consumers were not asking for a coffee-flavored Coke with artificial sweeteners.
- The resealable glass bottle was distinctive but expensive to produce, and the novelty of the packaging could not compensate for the lack of repeat purchases.
The lesson
A product that sits between two categories can end up serving neither audience. Mid-calorie with artificial sweeteners was a compromise nobody asked for.
Aftermath
Coca-Cola Blak was discontinued in all markets by 2008. Coca-Cola FEMSA released coffee dispenser machines under the Blak brand in Mexico in 2010, but the original soda was never revived. In 2021, Coca-Cola launched 'Coca-Cola with Coffee' in the US — a full-calorie product that addressed the same coffee-and-cola concept without the mid-calorie compromise.
Sources
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