One of the most popular sodas is making a comeback this summer, but there is a catch. It will only be available for a limited time in select stores. The flavor in question is the Retro Diet Cherry Coke. Even better, the drink will be sold with retro packaging, which just makes it look really cool and stylish.
The trusted food reviewer Snackolator shared the news on Instagram a few days ago and then Today received confirmation from the Coca-Cola Company regarding the drink. It has been about five years since the drink went off the market.
According to the outlet, fans will be able to find the vintage cans in stores beginning in mid-July, but they will only be available for a limited time. It's unclear how long they'll be stocked. Diet Cherry Coke will only be sold at the Kroger family of stores, meaning Kroger's itself, Mariano's , Ralphs, Food 4 Less, Gerbes, Baker's, Dillons, City Market, and others.
Diet Cherry Coke was first produced in 1986 on the heels of Cherry Coke's debut. A Zero-Sugar version of the flavor was released in 2007, and then Diet Cherry Coke was discontinued at some point between 2018 and 2020.
In 2018, the recipe was changed and the drink was renamed Diet Coke Fiesty Cherry, which fans didn't like as much as the original. That, too, was eventually pulled from shelves.
Two years later, the official Coca-Cola X account (formerly Twitter), confirmed that they were phasing out Diet Coke flavors like Feisty Cherry and Ginger Lime. Other discontinued flavors include Twisted Mango, Orange Vanilla, and Zesty Blood Orange. But it is Diet Cherry Coke that seems to to get mentioned the most when people lament former Coca-Cola options.
The latest mention of the drink on the X account is from May 2023, where the person behind @CocaCola informed a user that they had no plans to bring the drink back, although they claimed you could still find it through Coca-Cola Freestyle machines.
Hi, while we have no plans to bring Diet Coke Cherry back to stores in cans or bottles, you can still find it in the Coca-Cola Freestyle. Visit https://t.co/YnVIGZgmsV to find one near you. - We now produce Coca-Cola Cherry Zero Sugar.
— Coca-Cola (@CocaCola) May 10, 2023
Obviously, that has changed! And people are very happy about it, though I do have to agree with the commenters on Snackolator's original post who question why Coca-Cola can't just bring this particular flavor back for good. Maybe if sales for the upcoming batch do really well, we can get it as a staple flavor again.
Earlier this year, the drink company launched an Orange Cream flavor as a riff on the popular creamsicle, available in classic and Zero Sugar. It's a refreshing drink that is still available in stores.