More about the quest to find C2

Coke C2I just realized a few days ago that I have not provided any update on my search for Coca-Cola C2 (or Coke C2). (1, 2).

The last time I tackled the subject, I was convinced C2 was being pulled off the market. A month after posting that my friend Sara, whom I was visiting in Florida, welcomed with a dozen cans of C2, which she said at the time she had no trouble finding.

I was happy and suddenly thirsty. I drank as much as many of them as I could (I had to leave a couple in the hotel) and took two back to Washington to have as reminders of a lost era (they are the cans in the picture above).

I still haven’t seen C2 in Washington and I don’t know is Sara can still find it in Florida. All I know is that the speculations have now gone “mainstream” as the Wikipedia entry for C2 speculates that its future is uncertain.

And here is this omnious graph from a November story on diet sodas in Marketing Week (scroll far enough down on this site and you’ll find it).

“C2 was launched less than a month after Pepsi announced the debut of mid-calorie Pepsi Edge in March 2004. Neither sold well, as marketers, who had found it easy to market regular and diet versions of drinks to specific consumers, struggled to repeat the trick with a third tier of “mid-calorie colas”. Pepsi announced in May 2005 that it will discontinue Pepsi Edge next year. Coca-Cola is persevering with C2, though its 1.2 per cent share of the diet market is disappointing.”

There are some good news (signs of hope) too. I found a blogger who says he found C2 a couple weeks back, bought three 12-packs and did a happy dance (can’t figure out which city this happened in).

It may well be that the beverage will go extinct in the United States, but flourish in other parts of the world. All I know is that my fridge is not stocked with this weird drink anymore. And sometimes — not often — that makes me kind of sad.

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23 Responses to “More about the quest to find C2”

  1. I believe we can still get it here. If you get desperate, I’ll mail you some. But I don’t think that would work.

  2. I’ve never been a Coke fan. I don’t care for the taste that much, so Diet Coke worked better for me. However, I certainly understand there are two kinds of people out there Coke or Diet Coke.

    Which essentially made me a Pepsi guy. I like all theirs: Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi Lime, Vanilla Pepsi, Wild Cherry Pepsi and especially Pepsi Edge. That was great to get a very good flavor with much fewer calories. (I hear it didn’t sell enough.)

    Maybe you’ll find it again somewhere. Someone’s got to have it. That local bottler must be able to tell you where to find some stores (or, at least, a distributor) that buy it. From there, you can track down the last mile…

    With respect to Sara’s offer, I’ll quietly admit that I’ve had soft drinks shipped three times… after buying online from http://www.faygo.com/ because some of the flavors are so unique.

    Good luck!

  3. Hi,

    I too have been looking for C2 and really prefer it over Diet Coke. Like you, i found it an acceptable lesser calorie soda.
    I decided to do a google search and found people like me. I hope it turns up soon. I fear it is gone….

  4. I had a friend get it for me in the Chicago are paid 70.00 for 10 cases…yes I am desperate. There is a man on ebay selling if for .99 a can but the shipping is like 7.00….lol

  5. Was here in North Texas in big Food stores
    like Minyard, Carnival, Krogar, Super1, Albertson, and Walmart until last Month and it is now gone! I was Hooked on it and
    my kids liked it!Sure beats mega doses
    of sugar that coke classic has! I have contacted Coke and the local Bottling company to voice my feeling and if enough
    of us ask for it, Who knows? Coke has not discontinued it but the bottling companies are not buying it as far as I know. I have been buying it for 18 months and I can’t believe the numbers would be any lower than Fresca which has survived for years! Contact your local bottling company and complain! It was never givin a chance!

  6. I too live in North Texas and was saddened to see it go. I have six cans left in my cupboard and am saving them for a special treat. Sigh. I also called the bottler to express my disappointment.

  7. C2 was officially pulled from FL, GA, TN & CA about two weeks ago I get from the Canadian firm operating as a monopolistic bottler in FL & GA anyway yesterday. Slumping sales were the cause for this but the product was never fully supported in SW FL, has been poorly supported since Memorial Day weekend and not supported at all since Labor day weekend. A foreign firm artificilly manipulated an American iconic brand by creating poor sales at a time of slumping values of the publically traded company! And it’s funny they did this so quietly-the daparture of Pepsi Edge was announced months in advance as coke did with vanilla-yet this remains on the market despite being beyond its removal date?

  8. I’m so sad. I’m in Delaware and could find it at the Giant until about two months ago. I guess it’s gone.

  9. I live in Atlanta, the home of Coca Cola and they aren’t even stocking it here. I was able to get it at the local grocery stores up until about a month ago. I even asked one of the Coke people that set up the store displays and he said he’d never heard of it.?!

  10. It is gone but they are still making the syrup in Atlanta. We need a grassroots effort to get it back. There is another blog on this web site. Life and death of cocs cola C2.
    According to the consumer affairs person I spoke with in Dallas, they were not selling enough, but there was enough of a market that they took other bottlers syrup. The woman in Dallas said that all though it is up to the individual bottlers to decide what they are going to bottle, consumers need to sound off in Atlant too. We need to let Coke know we want it back. Call 1-800-GET-Coke. Tell them you want it back. Then call your local coke distributer. Texas may be the best shot…call the coke bottler in Texas send letters.

  11. Coke C2 has disappeared from Piggly Wiggly, Kroger, Bi-Lo and Food Lion here in SC. I saw the “Coke guys” at the CVS checking the stock and asked them about it and they said the stores have pulled it because people were not buying it and they kept pulling the expired packs off the shelf. They did say I could try the local Wal-Mart. I contacted our local distributor to see if they could tell me what stores they deliver it to. I was told that they didn’t know! DUH! They really don’t promote this product.

  12. I love C2 and just found out at my local Krogers that they aren’t going to stock it . I live in Kokomo In. I think im going in to a hissy fit.

  13. I just received a call back from a Coca-Cola rep in Atlanta. She informed me that the syrup was still being made for the time being but they were not manufacturing C2 any longer there. She said that she heard through the grapevine that the syrup would no longer be being made in April and then it would not be available anywhere. As far as she knows, Coca-Cola Consolidated is the only place even producing C2. I told her I was very disappointed. She said she has received many calls and that she forwards the info to the marketing department. If they are already planning on not producing the syrup, it will probably fall on deaf ears.

  14. I finally have C2! When I spoke to the Coke rep, she mentioned Mobile, AL as one of the places served by Coke Consolidated. My husband works near Mobile and I now have a supply. If you go to http://www.cokeconsolidated.com/map.html, you will see a map of the areas Coke Consolidated is in. If you are close to one of these places, maybe you can find some. We found plenty in Mobile. Good luck!

  15. C2 has been discontinued…if you feel as I do that this is a travesty, send an email to sign my electronic petition to bring it back, along with any comments you want me to share with Coke to bring.back.c2@gmail.com.

  16. I drove all over my howmtown of Murfreesboro, TN looking for it yesterday. Finally found 3 12-packs in the 4th store I visited, and bought them all. Every time it seems like it’s gone, it eventually re-appears. Dale, what’s the source of your information?

  17. All I know is I miss my C2 drink and I’m no longer happy.I’ve been a coke drinker and nothing else since I was 2 years old.The first time I
    drank C2 I fell in love all over again……

  18. Dale Petrie Says:

    My source of information is an email from the Coca Cola company. I was buying it regularly and then one day every store that carried it had Cherry Coke Zero in its place. I emailed Coca Cola back on the 15th and their response was that it had been discontinued, and that one bottler continued to make it for now, but that due to some BS regulations the bottler who does make it probably can’t ship it out of their territory. I’ve confirmed other people on line have been told the same thing…discontinued, one bottler, syrup will be discontinued in April, etc.

  19. I called the Coke company and they said it was still being made in North Carolina and Ohio. Apparently, each Coke factory decides what products to make. So, if you want C@ made in your area, you need to contact the local bottler. I also was told that Coke will not ship products into other areas that do not make the product you want. SO, if you want C2, like I do, then you will have to travel to those states and purchase it because they won’t intership it. I LOVE C2!

  20. I can’t believe I didn’t come to this site long ago, when this precious product C2 was abducted from the store shelves of America!
    I know there is an underground vault somewhere holding C2 hostage!!(which so happens to be the closest taste to coke ever!! minus the disgusting after-taste that all the cousin cokes have ~ Diet, Coke Zero, etc)

    The thing that infuriates me the most is looking at all the different coke products available. It seems like every day another variation of coke moves onto the shelves, but yet they had to take C2 away?? This just screams of discrimination to me!

    Let’s see we have: Diet, Caffeine-free, Coke with lemon, Coke with lime, Diet Coke with lime, Caffeine-free diet; Cherry coke, Diet Cherry coke, Black Cherry Vanilla, Black Cherry Vanilla diet coke, Coca Cola light,Coca Cola light WITH lemon, BLACK COKE!, Coca Cola light with Citra – whatever that is.

    Let’s face it — the only coke left to make is Coca-Cola with PEPSI!!!

    oh yea..the other day I saw a blue bottle which caught my eye..I though for sure it would say..coke with pepsi but lo and behold it was …

    Coke with minerals or vitamins???

    The one thing that tasted good and helped me loose 40 lbs…C2 – they discontinue.

    I hope someone has some encouraging news about getting this product – I have gained most of my weight back from being so addicted to Classic Coke – C2 was a life-saver for me.

    C2 was and IS “The Next Best Coke”

  21. I live in Montreal Quebec, Canada, I had a friend fly over here the other day from Alberta which is on the other side of the country. She told me how she missed C2 Coke so much, and she hasn’t seen it for such a long time. I took a quick trip to my local IGA grocery store, and there was C2, in the 2 litre bottles, and in cases of 12 cans. So I’m not sure if I just lucked out on old stock or what. But todays date is June 25, and the case of 12 I bought expires November 19-2007….. So it’s still some fresh tasting C2! Perhaps all you C2 lovers need to take a quick trip to east coast Canada to get your fix???

  22. Hey C2 lovers….I am still on the search just opened my last 12 pack this morning and I feel the shakes coming on! I just called Toronto Canada on the advice from the Coke folks here in the USA. Spoke with Jason and he said he would get me a number to a store then I could make arrangements with them for shipping. If you wish to try and give them a call as well just to let them know that we are true fans here…this is the number. 1800 218 2653. It may cost for the shipping but heck what doesn’t cost these days. I pray that this pans out.

    Just my little help for the cause.

  23. I miss C2. RIP my friend, I dont think we will ever meet again.

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