Coca-Cola launched C2 just as the low-carb diet faded, and priced it above Coke

In 2004, at the height of the low-carbohydrate dieting fad, Coca-Cola rushed out C2, a cola with about half the carbs of the original. The idea was to grab the dieter who wanted a middle ground.

The launch was called 'disastrous.' C2 posted poor sales almost immediately, and its higher price proved an obstacle on top of a product most shoppers saw as a compromise with no clear reason to switch.

The decision was badly timed: C2 arrived just as the low-carb diet phenomenon was waning, so the demand it was built around was evaporating. Coca-Cola tied C2's weak showing to a 3% drop in North American volume in the quarter.

The product was quietly discontinued, with C2 withdrawn from Japan in 2006 and phased out globally by 2007 — a fast, expensive lesson in timing a launch to a fad that is already peaking.

C2 arrived too late, priced too high, with no reason to switch, so buyers stayed away, causing a 3% volume drop and discontinuation by 2007.

C2 launched as the low-carb trend it was built for was already fading, so the target consumer was leaving just as the product hit the shelf

Pricing it above regular Coke gave a compromise product a premium price, so it lost to Coke on value and to Diet Coke on low-carb purity

A me-too middle ground pleased nobody: carb-conscious buyers chose Diet Coke, and loyal Coke drinkers saw no reason to switch

A product built on a trend must launch before the trend peaks, not after. C2 arrived as the low-carb diet was ending, priced itself awkwardly, and had no reason to exist for either side of the market.