Coca Cola C2: A Tribute
Update (Dec. 27): Read the response from Coca Cola at the bottom of this post.
Coca Cola has not been nice this year. Actually, judging by anecdotal evidence from Coke fans across the country, the soda king has been downright naughty. What has made this small group of people, including myself, mad at Coke is their phase-out of Coca Cola C2 (or Coke C2), the low-carb beverage that hit the street in June 2004 and was already being pushed out a year later.
Today, reports from around the country say it’s hardly available anywhere. When I first posted a year ago about being unable to find C2, there were no responses. Today, there are about 50 or so comments (read them here, here and here) on those three posts, the bulk of those coming in the past three-four months.
Why did the comments come so late? Because C2 was disappearing from their area stores and some couldn’t get it back even after pleading with stores or contacting Coke directly.
One month ago I decided to e-mail some of the people who left comments on the blog and ask them about their history with C2.
They wrote about how in C2 they found the perfect alternative to Diet Coke (which C2 was—not as sweet as regular but better tasting than diet), about hating Coke Zero (which was the product that Coke pushed out to replace C2), about feeling abandoned by Coke, and about their hope to see the beverage back on the shelves. And, here’s one interesting anecdotal fact about C2—it seems it really caught on in Texas.
Read their testimonies below and ponder the following. If so much of the beverage market is a niche world, why can’t Coke provide for us, the people who have fallen for C2 and were then left without it?
First, here is the e-mail I sent to the people who left comments:
I apologize for the unsolicited e-mail, but at one point you made a comment on one of my three C2 related posts.
I continue to be surprised at how many people continue to post comments, even a year later. From those comments, it’s obvious fewer and fewer of us have been able to find the drink–it’s been a year since I had my last one I believe.
The reason I am e-mailing you is because I’d like to pull together your C2 testimonies and post a longer version that I can later e-mail to Coca Cola. I know it’s not going to do much, but it never hurts to show the company.
So if you don’t mind sending me a few paragraphs about:
- how you found C2
- why you liked it
- some adventures is searching for it once it started disappearing
- your thoughts about related products (e.g. Zero).
=======================
Here are the answers (some have been edited for length):
Intrigued at the concept of a drink with calories that allegedly had all the great taste, I gave it a shot and immediately liked it even better than Classic Coke. Truly the best of both worlds.
I excitedly told all my friends and family about how good the drink was, even though it was hard to find. I would tell them about how it was too bad this drink could not have existed for the last ten years, as I would most surely not have the unhealthy few extra pounds I carry, but at least it was better late than never.
Turns out my brother in Houston was buying C2 and loving it just as I was.
My decision I have to live with now is to drink less soda than before. In my present state, I cannot continue to pump down high sugar drinks (i.e. Classic Coke), and their Zero is an abomination. So I just drink less cans per week.
I hope they will consider the idea I heard floating around our Texas bottler that Coke was thinking of re-introducing – for a limited time during the holiday season – some of their old flavors. If they would only do that for C2 once in a while, we devotees could buy large supplies of them to keep us happy.
I have had to pay >$1 a can for a few weeks now, in order to find last-ditch supplies of C2 in odd places. But I know even that option has run its course, and it is terribly disappointing.
Glen, Austin, TX
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My discovery of C2 was at a time when I was looking to reduce my caloric intake and find a different beverage to drink.
The no calorie diet sodas all left me wanting because they had that flat Neutrasweet taste. Prior to that I drank regular Coke or seltzer. I knew from my first can that this soda was something I could live with. It still responded to my need for sweetness and bubbles in my mouth.
Unfortunately as soon as I discovered it,…it seemed that it was difficult to find. One Stop and Shop had it. Then the next time they did not. Then one ShopRite had it, then they did not. The Stop and Shop where I originally had found it got it again. Then no more. I waited and waited in Ledgewood, NJ at another ShopRite where I had previously purchased it to see if the Coke truck had some on the truck, but he did not.
This is my sad story. I buy 4 12 packs at a time if I can find it. It was not too long ago that I found it in a ShopRite in Watchung.
It is such a wonderful product, it tastes great and I wish that it would “reappear” in the marketplace again.
C2 fan,
Joelle, NJ
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I was a loyal Coke Classic drinker and was looking to reduce my calorie intake without having to give up taste. C2 was it. I tried an individual bottle & was amazed. My local supermarket had rows of 2 litter bottles next to the Classic Coke (pre-Zero days).
The taste was just off Classic Coke, but was half the calories & carbs. I could cut back on my cola consumption, but not really with C2. ( I wasn’t even counting carbs – a bonus!)
Visited several grocery stores when the 2 liter bottles were disappearing and stockpiled. Did the same with the Fridge Packs last weekend. This week I made another round to find most stores had the C2 labels removed. Too bad.
The folks at Coke laid an egg on Zero. Why do they need another Diet Coke? Coke Classic and Diet Coke have had a very long history & picked up loyal customers along the way. C2 wasn’t promoted enough, especially after Pepsi discontinued their low carb version. C2 was aimed at the ginormous Coke Classic audience. Coke Black? If I want a cola, I’ll drink one and if I want coffee, I’ll have a cup. I don’t need them mixed. It’s doomed too.
I looked around at the other soft drinks to find a suitable replacement for C2. There is none!!
The little 100 calorie cans are a joke. Think about it, 12 ozs of C2 -70 calories, 6 ozs of Coke Cassic 100 calories. I might as well live it up and have a 12 oz Coke Classic with 140 calories, twice as much & only 40 more calories. No thanks.
Save C2, and Coca Cola try sticking with a newer product and advertising it. You might be amazed, especially since there no comparison.
Pat, AZ
PS: Once our C2 supply runs out we will be cutting our consumption of Classic Coke in half. No Zero, Diet Coke or Diet Caffeine Free Coke will do.
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I, too, am a C2 fan.
I drink it because it has 1/2 the carbs and calories of regular Coke yet tastes the same to me (when it’s cold). When we ran out of C2 here in Fort Worth, I got on the Internet, contacted Coke, etc.
Coke insists they still make the syrup but wouldn’t tell me what bottler is buying it. Finally in desperation, I went to my local Kroger and requested that they special order it. Within a week, they had C2 back on the shelf. I bought 9 twelve packs. They haven’t had any in a few weeks, but I’ll just continue to request it.
The local Coke distributor had no idea where Kroger got the C2 that they sold. The only thing I’ve been able to verify is that it is apparently still being sold in Oregon. Hope this helps.
Coke Zero, which supposedly replaced C2, is terrible in my opinion. If I wanted a Zero calorie Coke, I’d drink Diet Coke. The Coke bottler here sells TAB. I have to believe if there is a small market for TAB, surely there is a small market for C2 as well.
Alan, TX
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Hey, I am still very ticked-off at Coca-Cola for pulling the C2. I t had great taste , unlike Coke Zero which tastes like diet! Also, C2 didn’t have the Aspartame in it which gives myself and several other people I know migraine headaches!
Is Coke trying to make the population obese with all the carbs, or maybe they think everyone can drink aspartame?
Whatever the reason, I speak to so many people who wonder what happened to such a great product. Maybe the sales for C2 weren’t as high as they had hoped because there was always a limited supply of it in all the stores!
I did find it on sodafinder.com! (…) [T]hey want $24.00 for a 12 pack, with a 48 can limit! No, I didn’t order it. I refuse to buy anything from Coke at that price since they don’t have the decency to care about the public’s choice!
Hell, I use to be able to get 4 12 packs on sale for $10.00 at the supermarkets! $24.00 is highway robbery and why should Coke profit from the fact that they aren’t concerned about what we, the public, think!
So, add this to your blog and e-mail me to let me know when you post it! Maybe Coca-Cola will listen, maybe they will try again.
I have told everyone I know NOT to buy Coke Zero, let that flavor be retired!!!
Donna
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1, Saw the ads and the promotions in stores early on but wasn’t immediately interested.
2, Hit a new personal best in the weight dept and tried it to allow some normality during my dieting. Tasted good enough and cut my habit in half-I had always drank too much but for much of my working life it was physical and I could consume as much of what ever I wanted to. Both knees replaced 6 years ago at 40 and life improved from where it had been, stopped working and moved from CT to FL and spent too much time lying out by the pool.
3, Market for C2 had been stellar up to Memorial Day weekend, big promotions, sales, large stocks and I stocked up (good thing). After this it was multiple stores at differing times of day trying to catch some actually on shelves. My local Publix had allotted room for 4 12 packs. My Albertsons maxed out at 8 12 packs. And roughly a third of the time some stock would be there, another third found space depleted and the final third found another product taking up the space.
(…) I once pestered at Publix (…) if there was any out back, they were holding some (special order?) for someone else-a manager called them and the next delivery would suffice for them. This is my best story, I scored, but what a waste of so many peoples time to minimize sales! This to me indicates demand, no?
4, There are no commercial related products, Pepsi had one and dropped it with advanced notice like Coke has provided for Vanilla which for some reason remains on the shelves? The Zero is dreadful, never liked the diet, wouldn’t use the lime for a quick rum and, and there are flavors that I can’t see them doing any better with so I have passed on them.
Larry
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I just bought another bottle of Coke Zero just to make sure I felt the same way about it. It is better than I remembered, but I still would not buy it as a substitute for Coke.
Diet drinks are diet drinks. Diet Coke tastes nothing like the real thing. Coke Zero may taste better than Diet Coke but it is not the real thing. My diet drink of choice is Tab. I love the flavor. I also like Fresca. Those drinks came out as stand alone products. They were not supposed to taste like anything else. They have their own flavor profile.
C2 to me is a fantastic substitute for Coke. Granted it has calories….but it also has wonderful flavor. It tastes like the real thing, Coca Cola. Perhaps Coke needs to market the product like a light beer. Beer makers have yet to make a diet beer, with no calories. So perhaps we need three categories of soft drinks: regular, diet and light. Given a chance I think light could be popular across the board. Many people are weary of sugar substitutes.
I loved C2 because, to me, it tasted better than regular Coke. Regular Coke tastes a bit too sweet to me now. I could barely get through one can. With the C2, if I drank two cans I did not feel guilty. To be honest nothing tastes better than a ice cold coke after a long night out. I love the burn. C2 was the perfect answer to a hangover.
I still have five C2s in my fridge. I am holding on to them for a special day, sort of like a fine wine. I know a lot of people who can not stand diet drinks and C2 was their salvation. Now they just get the small 100 calorie Cokes.
From my conversation with the bottler in Texas, there seemed to be more of a market for C2 in Texas than elsewhere. Perhaps Texas could be the place to make it. C2 lovers could make pilgrimages to Texas to get C2. I would pay extra to have C2. I would even order it by mail. I would love a standing order of a case a month. That order would double if I were entertaining.
Virginia, TX
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Below is the answer I received from Coca Cola, to whom I sent this post. It looks like standard PR response, nothing different from what I got from them in the past.
Thank you for contacting The Coca-Cola Company, Mr. Lupsa. We are glad to hear from a fan of Coca-Cola C2 and apologize that you have had difficulty finding it in your area.
We have announced no plans to discontinue Coca-Cola C2. Regarding availability, local bottling companies choose which brands to sell and the size of the packaging that will be available in their territories. These decisions are based on consumer demand and other market factors. We believe they are in the best position to make those decisions.
If you would like to contact the bottling company serving your area, you may wish to contact them at the following telephone number: (800) 222-8088. If necessary, they may refer you to a sales center for assistance.
Your loyalty to Coca-Cola C2 is certainly appreciated. If we can be of further assistance, please feel free to visit our website again.
December 25th, 2006 at 1:50 pm
Cristian,
Thanks for keeping this going! My Thoughts…
Since 2004 C2 has sold out as soon as it hit the shelf, so how
could sales be bad enough to drop it? Someone at the bottler
can’t do the math! Coke C2 is better than Classic! I have been
asking stores to order it since early 2005 and it always sold out
fast. For the most part, the average person has never even heard of
it. I am very crossed with the lack of customer service with this
product, and will Rarely if ever buy Coke Classic! If C2 were in the
stores I would be buying a 12 Pack a week or more.
December 27th, 2006 at 2:46 pm
I’ll support the notion that C2 was both popular broadly speaking and specifically in Texas as well. It was a nice tasting beverage, as far as these things go, and had far fewer calories.
Given the outcry, a smart marketer would pick up the populist banner and wave it proudly on TV. “C2 is back by popular demand!” with the requisite personal interviews. Give it a personal, unpolished feel. Gata.
December 27th, 2006 at 10:39 pm
I heard that it is “illegal” for a bottler to ship outside his/her territory. I was told this by Coke when I asked if I could contact another bottler
December 28th, 2006 at 4:54 pm
I think you may start getting lots of responses now that Coke has been discontinued.
I contacted Coke and was told that C-2 has been discontinued “in my area”. I asked that they let me know where I have to go to get it. I didn’t receive a response. I’ll travel long distances for a coke that tastes just like full sugar coke with only 1/2 the calories. I’ve lost 120 pounds and need whatever help I can get in keeping it off.
C-2 wasn’t given a fair opportunity to succeed.
1) It was never on the shelf. I know people who wanted to buy it but could never find it so just stopped looking. I could only find it from time to time. When I did, I bought all they had.
2) It was not advertised adequately. No one even knew what it was. I went to every store I could find during my vacation on the central coast of California. Over and over I was told by the store managers that they always had trouble getting C-2. Most of them didn’t know what the difference was between C-2 and regular coke. Many of them told me they had been getting calls from people looking for it.
3) The packaging looks almost identical to regular coke. No one would know that there was a “new” coke on the market by looking at the packages. One of my friends told me she bought it by accident once, not realizing it wasn’t regular Coke. They should have given it a distinctive package so that people would see it was different and ask what the difference was.
Hopefully, if enough people to ask, they’ll bring it back…..
December 28th, 2006 at 6:06 pm
I’ve been checking this site out for several months because, I too, have been afflicted with Coke’s poor decision making. I’ve looked EVERYWHERE in the last several months but to no avail. My friend in Iowa found a few cases for me and shipped them down (it cost around $12/12 pack after shipping) but nothing within my 4 state area to be sure. One lady I spoke with from Coka-Cola said that she’s fielding quite a few calls about C2 and maybe they’ll bring it back sometime in the near future (uh…okay). If you need my signature for a “Bring It Back!” petition, count me in…I also have about 20 friends locally who would like to get their C2 back as well. Maybe next year, right Santa?!?
December 29th, 2006 at 5:11 pm
I just called the local Coke C2 distributor here in St. Louis. They were very nice and informative. Here is the verdict–C2 is gone. By April it will be completely shut down nationally. They have already pulled back significantly, as we all know.
They told me that they had received a lot of calls from people looking for the brand but that sales were “terrible.”
The lady I spoke with said she would pass my comments along to their sales people. I told her not to worry about doing that but she insisted saying that they were keeping track of the C2 calls. A ray of hope? Doubtful. But at least we know the hard truth now.
Sorry, all.
December 29th, 2006 at 11:00 pm
Most of the stores in LA (Ralphs, Vons, Smart & Final) had C2 in stock 2 weeks ago, but as of today no luck finding it. BUT this time last year in Los Angeles they removed it from the shelves around New Years and it returned by mid-January. I plan on contacting our local distributor next week.
If anyone is fortunate enough to live near stores that stocked it cold in their refridgerated sections, the few cases still out there might exist there.
I’ll let you know what the West Coast rep says next week…
December 30th, 2006 at 3:04 pm
I am also a fellow lover of C2. I remember last year (2005), there was a period we couldn’t get C2. Then finally we could. Now, since Thanksgiving (2006), we can no longer find it. After finally emailing many grocery stores, they say it is being discontinued. I am thouroughly discouraged. Like others, I hate Coke Zero. Also, why do their have to be several kinds of Diet Coke, but no inbetweens?
The problem, as many have expressed, is that Coke did not properly market C2. They hardly advertised at all and when they did, it was to appeal to the low carb dieters. Unfortunately, I think it was still a little high carb for them, plus it is a fad diet to some extent.
How about marketing to the millions of Weight Watchers people where a C2 is only one point versus the 3 points that regular sodas take. My husband and I loved C2 because we could drink one in the morning (I hate coffee and he hardly drinks it) and one with dinner and still be getting less calories than in one full coke.
Again, as others mentioned, many did not even know what C2 was. I often had to tell them. Also, on C2 (along with other diet and exercise), I lost about 75 pounds. Now that we are back to coke, we gained. Mainly because getting that high rate of sugar is making us crave more sugar…or gain energy and then have the energy just drop off. I would love to see C2 come back and have the Marketing Powers that Be market it properly to give it a chance.
December 30th, 2006 at 8:34 pm
Here is the info for DFW TEXAS:
The more complaints, the better!
CCE – NORTH TEXAS MARKET UNIT
P.O. Box 132008
Dallas, TX 75313
(800) 257-2653
January 2nd, 2007 at 10:20 pm
Are you kidding me!!!!! I finally find a cola that doesnt have too many calories (in fact half as many) and also does not have a horrible after taste and now it is just short of impossible to find. What about all that “its time to trim down America”. Your not a community partner..your just like the rest of the world…$$$$$$$$$$. Louisville, Kentucky
January 3rd, 2007 at 3:12 am
Thanks for pulling this together. I’ve been *really* frustrated trying to find any information on C2’s sudden lack of availability. It was in good supply here in northern California (Safeway, for example, had a pretty nice supply and I was able to buy 12-packs every week). Then, around the end of November ‘06, the supply dried up. I went to about 10 stores around the Bay Area, to no avail. I scoured Coke’s website (albeit kind of hard to read) and saw no mention of C2 being discontinued. Other websites such as drsoda.com list is as “manufacturer discontinued”.
What I can’t understand — and I’m completely perplexed by this — is how Coke can claim in their e-mail to you (and according to the Wikipedia article on C2) that they have no plans to discontinue it, yet in the same message disavow any responsibility for *all* of their bottling companies to stop making it. This just makes NO SENSE. I can’t understand how this works.
I know Coke’s business model is somewhat unique in the industry — i.e., they license the bottling companies who are otherwise independent, sort of like a franchise. However, how can they pour (pardon the pun) marketing resources and R&D into C2 and then have all their bottling companies fail to carry it? I just don’t get it.
Thanks again for the info. At least now I know I’m not crazy.
January 3rd, 2007 at 1:59 pm
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.
January 3rd, 2007 at 2:09 pm
UNREal!!
no more c2, what a joke. these coke zeros and lime whatevers. instead of getting rid of it, they should have done a c2 sprite and got rid of that coke classic sweetie.
well, i guess its back to the old days, buy some sodium free seltzer water and mix it with classic.
coke is a joke.
bad mistatke.
ps i called coke from a # on a c2 can and the girl told me that only NC
January 7th, 2007 at 11:19 am
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!
January 7th, 2007 at 6:57 pm
If anyone knows where C2 can be found in SW florida or anywhere in the state s post
January 8th, 2007 at 9:28 am
I live in Tucson and I had no idea of the C2 dilemma until I noticed it was pulled off the shelves in my immediate area a few weeks ago. C2 inspired me to mix diet coke and classic coke while ordering at restaurants or cafeterias (it has the desired C2 taste and calories). If I can no longer get it on the shelves, I’ll just stock both diet and classic and make my own. It is unfortunate that Coca Cola failed to recognize what a wonderful product they had.
January 10th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
My family are not pop drinkers however we also loved C2.
We happened to have some at a neighbors and continued to
buy it until we were no longer able to find! So….no coke products
are bought by this household any longer.
January 10th, 2007 at 6:29 pm
The response I received from Coke in Atlanta today is only North Carolina is producing the C2. Below is the contact for LA if anyone else wants to complain. Their response is it is being manufactured but on backorder. I don’t know what to believe anymore, BUT I urge everyone to at least make a call. Without any calls this might all slip away. The website to find your local bottler is http://www.cokecce.com
Coca-Cola Enterprises Bottling Companies
1334 South Central Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90021
213/746-5555
January 10th, 2007 at 6:48 pm
I was a classic coke drinking fool until I found c2, I thought c2 tasted so much better and never thought that one day it would be gone but here I am writing to let you know that here in Georgetown Kentucky it is gone. I looked at every store in town as well as stores in the next town over. I can not believe the coke company would do away with such a great product but keep making such crap as coke with lime and coke with vanilla I can’t believe that they sell enough of that stuff to keep making it but can’t keep making c2. I just don’t understand companies who drop or change good products. Like many of you I can’t stand coke zero or diet coke and c2 was a great way to have my coke but not feel like I was being bad on my diet. I really don’t know what I will drink now since I figure if coke can’t make c2 then I won’t give them any of my money by buying any of there other products. If there is a petition or somewhere we can write to complain please let me know.
Boy I am so thirsty
January 10th, 2007 at 9:38 pm
I’m so disappointed to read all these responses. They just confirmed my suspisions that C2 was being phased out. I too would look for it in every store that I went in. I knew something was going on when it started getting so hard to find. When I did, I would buy all that was on the shelf! It was so good. I hate Diet Coke and refuse to drink it. I don’t understand exactly what Coke Zero is supposed to be…that and Diet Coke sound like they should be the same…right?
Who drinks Cherry Coke, Vanilla Coke, Lime Coke, Dark Cherry Coke? And all these are in the diet form too. Disgusting. C2 has got all of these beat!
Well, I have always been a very loyal Coca Cola fan…never drank Pepsi products…..but I will have to say that I’m very disappointed to hear this and I will call the southeast headquarters in Atlanta and voice my objection. By the way, the number is 1-800-647-2653 for those of you who want to ‘chime in’. Let’s all call and tell them one more time!
January 10th, 2007 at 10:34 pm
My husband drank his last can with dinner tonight.
Thought he was going to cry!!!! He also orders “half and half” when we go out to eat but it’s definitely not the same. You would think if you could buy C2 anywhere it would be here in its hometown of Atlanta. When I contacted them a few weeks ago they told me it was still being produced and gave me my local distributor’s name and number. No return call received. Can’t find it anywhere in the area.
January 11th, 2007 at 4:57 pm
I too, love C2. I got my family hooked on it while they were visiting with me, but they were unable to get it at all in Hawaii, where they live. It has been available here in West Hollywood until… horror of all horrors, I went to the grocery this week to stock up and found NO C2 anywhere on the shelves. I was staring at the shelves, willing it to appear out of nowhere. A stocking clerk asked if he could help me. I said, “I’m looking for the C2?” He said, “the what??” Uh-oh, bad sign. He confirmed they didn’t have any such thing. I am devastated. I am going to start scouring the city for a new supplier, but if/when I find one, believe me, I’m stocking up!!
Oh, and yes, Coke Zero SUCKS. It’s actually WORSE than Diet Coke, if that’s possible.
January 11th, 2007 at 8:48 pm
As a heartbroken C2 lover in SW Florida I suggust that someone with some decent computer skills (that’s not me) put together an online petition and send it to Coke.
I can get me, my wife and my in-laws. We all have purchased C2.
Worth a shot.
January 11th, 2007 at 9:59 pm
Not trying to rub salt in the wound but I have to report a local C2 find. A “mom and pop” grocery store still had a few 12 packs on their shelves…I BOUGHT THEM ALL. They expire June 4. At least I can put-off the inevitable for a little bit longer.
January 14th, 2007 at 6:07 pm
I just returned home after searching for C2 in all the grocery stores in Ames, Iowa … and returned empty-handed. In the last several weeks C2 was becoming increasingly difficult to find, but now it’s gone, gone, gone.
On my return home I jumped online to see whether my suspicions were true. I found your blog. Alas, it’s true! They’re phasing out my beloved C2.
I’m one of those C2 fans who vastly prefer its flavor over Coke Classic. C2 seemed to be a version of Coke “for a more adult taste.” After enjoying C2, Coke Classic tastes over-sweet: almost cloying and kool-aid-like. With C2 out of the picture, I’ll be purchasing “Zero” Coke products. Man, I hope they bring back C2.
Meanwhile, if anyone knows where C2 can be obtained in Iowa, please let me know. I’ll lease a flippin’ truck.
Thanks for putting this together. Misery loves company.
January 15th, 2007 at 9:33 am
This is ridiculous! I don’t drink much soda, more of a water, tea, and juice person. But when I found C2 I liked it so much I bought a case to keep around. Little did I know that it was my only chance to aquire a soda that I actually liked?!? I looked in 3 Stop and Shops and 2 Shaws this weekend – no luck. At the last place, I ran into a Coke guy stocking the shelves and he told me that the only place around that had it was on the Cape (he lives in that area). I called my in-laws who live in Albany and they were also told by a Coke distributer that there was none in that area also because it was being discontinued.
Do we need to start calling the distributer? Coca-Cola corporate?
I know it’s not much but, the few dollars I *would* have spent a week for soda will not go to CCE Inc – too bad for them.
PS: The driver I spoke to also said the “Splenda” version of DietCoke was also not selling well and therefore is hard to get in this area as well.
January 20th, 2007 at 1:53 pm
I found this site while trying to look up any information I could find on C2. I started drinking it as soon as it came out and was totally hooked. It is the only soda I will drink. A couple weeks ago, I went to the store to pick up a case – only to find that the shelves were empty. I assumed they were just out of it (this had happened before) and decided to try another grocery store a few days later. Again – none on the shelves. I finally called my local bottler who connected me with customer service. The woman that I spoke with checked to see if it was still available in my area as it was only being sold in certain regions. I live in Cincinnati, Ohio and the closest place for me to go was North Carolina. She said she would pass along my comments to the marketing department and that they were keeping track of C2 calls that came in. She then stated that if enough calls were received perhaps they may change their minds. So, here’s to hoping……. I wish I’d seen this site sooner. Had I read some of the comments talking about how hard it was to find – I’d have bought all of the packs available last time I was in the grocery store…. =(
January 21st, 2007 at 4:25 pm
I, too, have been unable to find C2 anywhere in Ventura County
(Southern California) Here’s to a drink far superior to any diet coke ever made. C2, we’ll miss you.
January 24th, 2007 at 8:04 pm
I found some for sale on Ebay. I e-mailed the person and they said it is still sold in Canada.
January 24th, 2007 at 10:08 pm
Well I’ll be calling the Great Lakes regional bottler in Cincinnati. I see some fellow neighbors in Louisville, Cincy & Georgetown have also left comments (I live in Lexington). I’m a former Coke Classic drinker who hates Diet Coke with a passion (and Coke Zero almost as much). C2 gives (or gave) me almost exactly the same taste as Coke Classic but with 1/2 the calories. I know tons of people are looking for lower calorie alternatives but the bottom line for me is taste and C2 has it. I stumbled across this page while trying to find someplace on line that is selling it. A guy in Canada has an eBay store with 50 available for the low, low price of $8.99 for a 12-pack. Shipping is an insignificant $32 for the first 12-pack and $16 for each additional one. Uh, good luck. If you’re rich I say go for it though. I can only hope that Coke comes to its senses. If not, I will go back to Coke Classic reluctantly but I won’t be buying near as much as I did before. Oh and yeah how can they possibly continue to make Diet Cherry Black Raspberry Vanilla Orange Lime Coke and every other variation possible?????? It makes no sense.
January 27th, 2007 at 12:22 am
I am so disappointed at Coke for discontinuing this product and if I had realized this sooner, I would have stockpiled it! I am in my second pregnancy and suffering (once again) from migraine headaches. Since I am unable to take any medications that work, I had been using C2 to help alleviate some of the pain … it has the perfect balance of caffeine and sugar to help me out a bit. Diet Coke has an awful taste to me while I am pregnant and regular Coke is too sweet to drink.
I drank my last can today … three more months before the baby arrives. I guess I’ll have to try to mix Coke and Diet Coke and hope I can come up with a concoction that helps me.
January 27th, 2007 at 11:06 am
I couldn’t believe how many people were in my boat! Actually, I guess I can….C2 was the Best! I started to have problems finding it around Xmas time here. I just recently bought 2 12 packs of Coke Zero to “try it”, and I DON”T like it! When your first open the can it smells like Coke, and tastes “o.k.” then half way trough the can it starts to taste flat and DIET. I called one of the #’s this site had given and they said the difference between Diet and Zero is….Zero has less carbs and a different sweetner that Diet. Well I agree they should get rid of the Vanilla, Lime and all those kind of flavors and make room for the C2! I also contaced another # I found and they told me that it is still available but NOT in the MIDWEST! So I am still searching…………..
January 27th, 2007 at 12:19 pm
Like the rest of us on this sight, I am a big fan of C2 and I live in New York. I contacted the local bottler inquiring as to why it is no longer available and where to find it, and that was useless…. It is a great tasting product and the only alternative to diet or regualr soda. However, it was never marketed properly (i.e. poor advertising and promotions), and the can is almost identical to regular Coke. Perhaps Coca-Cola had reservations about marketing the product for some reason, and it didn’t get the support from them it deserved. If sales were so terrible, then I wouldn’t point the finger at the American public. Coca-coal is deciding to pull the plug way to soon.
Does anyone know if Pepsi has any plans to have a reduced sugar/calorie cola similar to C2?
January 28th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
Paul, in regards to your Pepsi question, they released a reduced sugar brand called Pepsi Edge about the same time that Coke released C2. But Pepsi was more impatient than Coke and pulled Edge last year.
I took one last stab at searching local St. Louis stores, big and small, for any remaining C2 still on the shelves. It is all gone. Luckily though, I still have two twelve packs left so I can get that last “savor” before it’s history. Then it’s back to mixing diet and regular. I too wonder what is going on with all those flavors that the geniuses at Coke have released. Disappointing.
January 28th, 2007 at 6:53 pm
I had discovered C2 Coca Cola at Walmart. What a find I thought! Finally a cola product at half the calories. It taste better than diet soda. But I have just discovered they are no longer carrying it and I have checked other local stores,to no avail. I had only recently discovered this product. It is dumbfinding to me they have never advertised this product. What a shame and that is why I am adding my input to say – BRING IT BACK AND ADVERTISE IT – PLEASE
January 28th, 2007 at 7:10 pm
I am so ticked off that I can’t get my C2 anywhere around. I don’t understand why coke has to have so many versions of the same diet crap which has absoluty no value to the consumer. C2 actually had some suger in it to give you some energy and a refreshing drink with caffine. All these diet soda have less value then taking an excederin and drinking a glass of water. I’m sad that in Cokes eyes its all about sales instead of actually providing the variety which i sure they think they are doing with all of there failing flavored Cokes.
January 28th, 2007 at 8:34 pm
Can your order C-2 on-line??? I love the product and cannot find it in South Dakota. Please help………….
January 29th, 2007 at 2:34 pm
Alas, until recently C2 had been carried by Cub Foods in the Chicago area, but now that it has closed down, C2 is nowhere to be found around here. I emailed Coca-Cola yesterday and received a reply this morning (I will give them token points for a prompt reply) stating: “We’re sorry for the inconvenience, but C2 is not currently being distribute in your region.” Undaunted, I set out on a google-quest to find it on my own, which led me to this site. So… if it has indeed been discontinued, they’re not coming clean. Ahhh… I’m sure there’s some grain of truthiness in their response, like, by “your region,” they weren’t simply responding to my inquiry about the Chicago area, or even speaking more broadly about the Midwest… perhaps the “region” they were referring to was the U.S., or North American, or the Western Hemisphere. Shame on them. And while I’m at it… perhaps if they’d done a better job of marketing it (did anyone else find the C2 package graphics so indistinguishable from Coke Classic that they had to really look hard to even TELL if it was on the shelf or not?), C2 would have maintained a stronger market share than Coca-Cola apparently allowed it to sink to before abandoning it.
January 29th, 2007 at 4:06 pm
I was a big C2 Fan… most everyone i had try it said that they liked it and could hardly tell that it was a diet soda.
January 30th, 2007 at 1:05 am
I spoke to a few different people from both my local bottling company and one in the Midwest. As of a week ago, the only place still making C2 was North Carolina and it was not likely to last there for long. Every other state had discontinued the product. According to them, C2 contained a mixture of artificial sweeteners that are found in both Diet Coke and Coke Zero separately. I suppose the ideal mix would be 5 parts Coke Classic, 3 parts Coke Zero, and 2 parts Diet Coke. What a joke! I found out C2 was history the same week I realized Jamie, Jack and Stench were booted from Star 98.7 radio in LA. Geeez, all I need is to find out Bud Light is toast and I will have to find another country to live in! Peace
January 31st, 2007 at 3:34 pm
It is great to hear all of the other frustrated people out there! I used to be a staunch Coke supporter, but after they pulled the one drink that was perfect for me with a spectaculer taste, I will not support Coke anymore. Here’s hoping Coke will reconsider and get back some of its LOYAL customers. Correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t they still make TAB?
February 1st, 2007 at 12:33 am
I guess I’m like the other people on Coke’s sinking ship-C2 that are very disappointed in their apparent decision to quit making a product that was both healthier and had a better taste than Coke’s other produsts. My wife and I both enjoyed C2. We tried Coke Zero, glad we only bought one six pack (yuck!!!!!!).Can’t stand the after taste of Diet Coke. They got people hooked on a good product and then left us hanging. Maybe if they get enough complaints they will bring it back.Whishful thinking????
February 1st, 2007 at 9:41 pm
I, too, cannot believe they are discontinuing C2! I was a loyal Coke drinker for 40 years. I drank Coke and then Coke Classic and didn’t start drinking C2 until early 2005. I had decided to seek a less caloric substitute for Coke Classic and C2 was it! When cold, it was barely distinguishable from Classic except that it had a lighter yet bolder taste to it. I was hooked. I never thought any soda would free me from my dependence on Classic Coke, but C2 did. From the time i had started drinking C2 in early 2005, I don’t recall seeing one TV ad for it. My current roommate, who had turned me on to it was having spotty luck finding it in his area(Watauga, Texas) even then. Personally, we loved it in the 20 0z. bottles and had wished they would put it out in the half liter 6 packs. They never did. So when the 20 oz bottles became scarce we settled for 12 oz fridge packs in cans. And now those too have been discontinued? What is the deal? They still make TAB for crying out loud!! Surely, even with the EXTREMELY poor marketing job that Coke did with C2, it was outselling TAB on it’s worst day. TAB, the relic from the sixties that couldn’t possibly appeal to anyone under 65, is still available. Coke currently makes 6 varieies of diet cola, 5 varieties of cherry cola, a cola/coffee drink and yet there doesn’t seem to be room for C2. I agree that the zero calorie idea has been beaten to death by Coke and yet they don’t have the wisdom or concern that maybe a “light” version of Coke is more important than 6 different kinds of diet coke. C2 is the best drink they’ve introduced since ORIGINAL Coke with sugar. I like it better than Classic and I think that Coke Zero couldn’t have been more aptly named. It is a HUGE Zero!! Now that they’ve yanked C2 away from us without a bit of care or concern about what we the customer wants, I will have to find a non soda alternative. I won’t go back to Classic and they couldn’t pay me to drink Zero. None of their other “beating a dead horse” variety of diet drinks appeals to me, so, like many of you, for the moment I’m lost.
But if they don’t bring back C2 soon, they will totally lose a lifetime loyal customer in me and I’m sure many others. When I found out C2 was discontinued in my area, (Dallas, TX), I lamented to everyone at work at my store as well as customers. 8 out of 10 people I complained to said “what’s C2?” What does that tell you about how poorly Coke marketed the product? I would have a different view if nearly everyone I told about the demise of C2 showed apathy or was happy about it. THEY DID NOT KNOW WHAT C2 WAS!!!!!!!! Shame on Coke for not marketing C2 better!! I hope they realize their mistake and bring it back..
Very upset and disappointed in Coke
February 2nd, 2007 at 5:05 pm
Finally! A forum for my frustration! C2 disappeared from my local regional grocer, Schnucks in late October. I called Coca-Cola in Atlanta & got the same answers….blah blah blah …not OUR decision, rather the decision of local bottlers. I called my “local” bottler multiple times in Ohio & could never get a live person on the phone. While traveling 2 1/2 hours away in December, I searched their Schnucks stores and hit a 6 case jackpot. I bought all 6 cases & if there had been 100, I would have found a way to stash them in the car home! If any Coke Execs are perusing this forum…….BRING BACK C2! Coke Zero is just nasty.
February 2nd, 2007 at 10:41 pm
I can’t believe it I thought I was all alone. I have been going crazy trying to find C2 I am absolutely gone on this soft drink. I had been buying it from a distributor on line but they no longer carry it either and they are based in Atlanta the home of Coca Cola can you believe that? My son who loves me dearly tracked down a seller in Canada and paid more than I care to say just for 8 twelve packs. I drank only one a day trying to make them last but I am sorry to say I am again without my favorite drink. I too contacted Coca Cola and told them the tough time I was having finding C2 in our local stores but they didn’t seem to care I got little and no response. I have bookmarked this site so that I can read all the comments and know I’m not the only lover of the amazing drink. In a time when so many American of suffering with obesity and other health issued this was the perfect alternative to full sugared drink. Thank you
February 4th, 2007 at 1:48 pm
I came home last night from a trip away from home and I was so looking forward to restocking my C2 supply. My grocery store was not carrying it – as of a month ago they still had it and I bought them out. My husband and I were disappointed. On the way home I received an email on my BlackBerry from my mother-in-law begging everyone she knew to please help her find some C2. I showed my husband and expressed my dismay that perhaps it was gone forever. I returned home and was relieved to see there was ONE MORE C2 left in the frig. I was looking forward to popping it open during the Super Bowl today and cherishing every last sip of what could well be the last existing C2 known to man. I went about unpacking and preparing for our Super Bowl party today. After cleaning up some things I went back in the kitchen to discover an empty can sitting on the counter next to a bottle of rum. Not only did he have the audacity to drink the last one, knowing full well I was looking forward to savoring it, but he DEFILED it by mixing it with rum! Let’s be clear – we have regular Coke AND Diet Coke in the house. He even mentioned at the store that he likes rum and diet coke better than classic coke. I cried. I might be the only person in history that has to get divorced over C2…
I will pay ANYTHING to get a case of C2. Well, let’s be clear – my HUSBAND will pay anything.
February 4th, 2007 at 2:22 pm
I sent this post to consumerist.com. They are a powerful lobby for all-things consumer related. If they decide to spotlight the dissapearance of C2, we might see a better response from Coke.
February 4th, 2007 at 8:28 pm
I’ve complained to everyone I can think of about this. They really didn’t promote this very well, and I don’t care how much the Coke Zero commercials say it…it does NOT taste like Coke Classic! I’m done with Coke products. They have every screwball flavor of coke but can’t adocate a little space to this drink. I have nothing else to add that hasn’t already been said, but the longer this list of disgruntled consumers is, the better. I just don’t understand how companies can give up on products they haen’t done anything to promote.
February 6th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
BELOW IS THE EMAIL RESPONSE RECEIVED FROM COKE:
Thank you for contacting The Coca-Cola Company. We appreciate the opportunity to assist you.
Unfortunately, Coca-Cola C2 will be discontinued. As there is only one bottler still producing the product, it will only be available while supplies last in the southeastern region of the U.S. However, please know that in the United States and many other countries, it is a violation of the bottler’s contract for products to be taken from one bottler’s territory to another by a third party. We know this is disappointing, but we hope you will understand.
Please be assured that your feedback is important to us. We’d be more than happy to share your comments and your loyalty to this brand is certainly appreciated.
If you have additional questions or comments to share, please visit feel free to contact us again.
Lesley
Industry and Consumer Affairs
The Coca-Cola Company
February 10th, 2007 at 6:49 pm
Coke is A Joke! Now Cherry Coke Zero!%@#
I am still voicing my views with them, However we
must realize the age of customer service is gone like C2! I am mad
as heck and plan on finding something that coke doesn’t make for
my soft drink choice!
February 11th, 2007 at 2:37 pm
To someone that can make a difference…I hope:
I have been a loyal Coke customer since I was about 16, I am now 48. I drink way too much soda…about 8-10 cans a day! I’d always been active enough to fight the calories but something happens in our mid life years and our metabolism slows to an almost halt and I was gaining weight so I knew I had to cut back on soda. My youngest son found C2 at the grocery store and brought a can home for me to try. I was so set to hate it and wasn’t prepared at all to love it, but I did!
I can’t believe the hoops I have jumped through for the past few years just to be able to buy C2, constantly having to request the store managers to please hold 6-9 cases of C2 for me every week and still, once again, have no product to buy. Last year I had been told by one of the managers of a grocery store here in St. Louis that C2 wasn’t going to be distributed any longer. I went to many stores and purchased 80 plus cartons! I would have bought more if I could have found it.
Now it is nowhere to be found again. I have already called Coke a few weeks ago to be told you weren’t making it anymore, except for North Carolina. I had no warning this time so I didn’t get to store any. I was looking for it online and came across so many sites where people are looking for your product…seems there is a market if you could just supply it. I know where I live I truly had to beg for the soda. I went to every Walgreen’s, 3 of them along the way to Dierberg’s, the one store that, after much pleading, begging and buying it every single time it was stocked, consistently stocked C2 so I became loyal to only them and passed up a large grocery to get to them….Schnuck’s rarely carried C2 so I just stopped giving them any of my business altogether.
Are there any plans to bring it back? Maybe if you hadn’t brought so many things out at a time…coke zero…ugh, gross, coke with lime, yuck, vanilla coke…eww. lol I am not sure what I am supposed to drink now but I am so mad at Coke for pulling this that it won’t be Coke. I was drinking the regular classic coke again but have already gained enough weight that my clothes don’t fit. I guess I will switch to iced tea….I don’t know, Coke is the only thing except for 2 cups of coffee and an occasional glass of milk, that I have no clue what I am supposed to do now.
I just wanted to let you know, and I am sure in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t matter, my measly 50 dollars a month or so will no longer be coming to the Coke company.
I think if you had promoted C2 it would have caught on faster, but there were very few commercials aired for it. Word of mouth has sold alot of C2 if you think about it. Read the blogs and complaints online…just google C2 …and you will see it is sorely missed everywhere and yet it was so hard to find for everyone. It was every woman’s dream come true…we could still drink coke but not gain so much weight!
If you keep records of people calling you will see I placed many calls to the Maryland Heights Mo location to request C2 to be stocked in any store…within 25 miles of me! I am not kidding you. It has been like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
I sure hope someone recognizes the need is there…in order for a product to succeed, it must be in the spotlight. It must be in the store.
As loyal as Coke customers are, we are as intense about becoming a disloyal Coke customer and will absolutely refuse to buy another Coke product, not just the soda. I have seen several people state that online and unfortunately, I feel the same way. Maybe if sales go down in all of the products you supply, we could get C2 back.
Sincerely, and with regret,
blah blah blah
here is a very good place to start: Owlspotting » Blog Archive » Coca Cola C2: A Tribute
February 11th, 2007 at 5:03 pm
This site seems to be the only place that I can find that is voicing C2’s fans extreme dissapointment with the discontinuation of the best reduced-calorie cola ever made.
In the Chicago area I bought C2 at my local grocery store up until December of 2006. Beginning January 2007 they replaced it with Zero. I can’t drink diet soda, the aftertaste is disgusting, i rather drink nothing than diet soda. C2 was a godsend for me. Coke’s website is down or something today. I can’t even complain to them about it.
Can someone post the email address or toll free number to coca-cola here so we can all email and call them? All of my friends, even the non-C2 drinkers, will be glad to email and call them as well because they are so sick of me crabbing about not having any C2!
My poor husband has been suffering miserably since I can’t get any C2! Help me save my marriage, and C2 drinker-marriages all across the land! Bombard Coca-Cola demanding they return our C2!
February 12th, 2007 at 4:27 pm
Purchased all the C2 that I could find up until December 2006 in the Northern Indiana area. My grocery store also replaced it with disgusting Zero. I sent in a request through my grocery store for more C2 and spoke to a couple of guys that delivered coke products. It seemed that they could never keep enough of the stuff on the shelf in any of the local grocery stores.
Bring back the C2! I am willing to order it online and have it delivered by mail from a central location!!!
February 14th, 2007 at 6:21 pm
Should we strike!! I’m from Northern WI and about a month ago they stopped putting C2 on the shelves.This is great with Rum, and at hlaf teh calories and other stuff I can have 3! I emailed Coke and they responded it will be discontinued but available in southern US, and the blah-blah about illegal for bottlers etc… you all heard it before.
So a plead goes out to southern U.S , someone rent a semi and bring me some C2!!!
February 14th, 2007 at 9:33 pm
I thought I was the only one that was obsessed with trying to get Coke C2! I too was stockpiling as I found it in various stores. I cannot find any anywhere anymore. I’m so frustrated as it was the perfect solution for me – I like Coke Classic but can’t afford the calories. Coke did not do a good job advertising the product and as a result I was late to get on the band wagon. I really think they are missing the boat as it appears that there are a lot of us that miss the beverage. I wonder if Diet Rite would be interested in producing a version – they could call it D3.
February 14th, 2007 at 10:11 pm
I too am outraged at the prospect of them discontinuing C2. I’m told that the person to write to is:
Marty Miller
CCE (Coca-Cola Enterprises) Divisional VP/GM
10151 Carver Rd.
Cincinnati, OH 45242
Writing is the most powerful way to influence those in charge.
Also call:
1-800-552-2653
and
1-800438-2653
February 14th, 2007 at 10:48 pm
Write unceasingly to your local bottler as well as to Coca-Cola corp HQ in Atlanta
http://www.cokecce.com/pages/allContent.asp?page_id=86
February 16th, 2007 at 12:18 pm
One day it was there on the store shelves the next it was gone! My hubby drank our very last C2 and all contacts to Coca Cola got me no where.
Missing C2
I was a dedicated coke drinker never cared for the diet versions and when a friend told me about C2 I thought it would be just as bad as diet soda. First drink I was hooked and switched to C2. Now I it’s gone, I’ve gone back to regular coke but it just doesn’t taste good to me anymore. I tried Coke-Zero god that’s aweful stuff.
February 17th, 2007 at 10:19 pm
O.K., I need to join in on this thread. I bought my first bottle of C2 right after I saw it a convenience store near where I work. I had just previously caught the end of a commercial featuring the Rolling Stones song, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” on TV. I was intrigued. I tried it, and thought it is real close to the taste of Classic Coke. I guess that I was not immediately hooked, but the taste “haunted” me and I had to try it again. After that I never looked back to Classic Coke. Over the time It was available in Central Texas, I found that it tasted best in the bottles, although the cans were a reasonable substitute. After a while, that convenience store abruptly stopped stocking C2. Now the search was on. About this time Coke Zero was introduced. I tried that and thought, “What are they thinking?” C2 is much superior. When I found C2 at another convenience store, I became quite the regular customer there. One day in the summer of 06, I was in that store and purchased the “last” bottle of C2. The foreign proprietor of the store was taking to the Coca-Cola delivery man and told him to be sure a supply him with more C2. The delivery man shook his head signifying a no to the man’s request. I had a funny feeling after that. As I made that rounds of the stores and grocery stores, supermarkets, etc. in the area, the C2 bottles became scarcer and scarcer. The two largest stores in this area, H-E-B and Super Wal*Mart, continued to carry C2 in cans. So I promptly stocked up whenever I saw it and had enough space in my car. The next to the last time I saw great quantities of C2 at the Super Wal*Mart was in July 06. After that it appeared “now & again,” up until November. The last time I saw C2 anywhere in this area was just prior to Thanksgiving. Not that I panicked, but an overwhelming sense of C2’s demise was “just around the corner.” All the while, I keep checking the Coca-Cola Website to gather any information about C2 being discontinued. I am so glad to hear of others who also have been touched by C2. (The other day I went to the doctor’s office and was weighed. I have to admit that drinking Coca-Cola Classic has caused me to gain weight also!) I too have searched out other possible sources for C2 and have been disappointed. However, in the back of my closet, I am sitting on six of the refrigerator twelve can packs (72 cans). Yes, the imprint on the box says they are best to be used before the end of November, and yes I want to consume them before they “go bad,” but I am hanging on to them in hope that maybe, just maybe, Coca-Cola will answer our prayers and start producing C2 again. (I agree. How can they continue to justify the existence of all the other “types” of Coke, and allow C2 to pass away with little or no effort on their part?) Thank you for keeping this issue alive.
February 18th, 2007 at 9:14 am
Nice post, Mike.
Regarding the date on the packages, the taste will still be excellent for AT LEAST three months after the date stamp acccording to food and beverage industry websites. Some soda experts say even nine months. It probably would be longer than that if C2 didn’t have a diet mix. PURE diet soda drinks generally have shorter shelf lives than regular sodas. So don’t sweat the date stamp.
And if you’re motivated, you can drive to the Carolinas and other areas of the southeast (not Atlanta) where C2 is still distributed. But it won’t be there long. April is the shutdown month for all of C2.
Enjoy it while you can.
February 19th, 2007 at 8:38 pm
Well, I did perfer Pepsi, but as soon as I got ahold of C2, well so long Pepsi. Now the idiots at Coke decided to discontinue it…BRILLIANT!!!! I mean lord knows they need more shelve space for that crap diet stuff.
DOWN WITH COKE UNTIL C2 COMES BACK!!!!!!!
February 20th, 2007 at 6:03 pm
I live in St. Paul, Minnesota, which is a much larger city than most people realize. When you count the Twin Cities together, there are I belive something like 3 or 4 million people over an area probably 2500 square miles when you count all the suburbs. We have 4 large grocery retailers in the Twin Cities area and a few smaller ones, and I’ve seen C2 go from being everywhere, to being in only 2 stores. I first tried it the summer of 2004, which was just a few months after being diagnosed with type II diabetes. I hadn’t consumed Coke in 9 months and thought I never would again, after over 30 years of being a daily Coke drinker. It began showing up in 20 oz bottles, and then I could get it in 6 packs, then 12 packs, then 2 liter bottles, then for a while, I could even get it as a fountain soda. Coke said when Pepsi Edge was discontinued that they have no plans to discontinue it, but they lied. As soon as Zero came out (which does OK at tasting more like Coke than diet, but still suffers from an abominable aftertaste which C2 just doesn’t have), some of the packaging options disappeared as did some of the shelf space. Pretty soon we were down to only 12 packs and only the 2 largest chain grocers. They kept this on the shelf (barely…it always seemed to sell out as soon as they got it) until a couple weeks ago, which was the last time I bought the last 12 pack I saw anywhere on a store shelf. They decided they needed another product aparently and introduced Cherry Coke Zero, which also tastes awful. Anyway, as you seem to all already know (though there is no news story about this ANYWHERE), Coke told me they discontinued it, only one bottler in the southeast was still making it and now it’s gone once the shelves are empty there, pretty much tough titty. So, we need to do something. Has anyone started a petition? If not, I will do so!
February 21st, 2007 at 12:28 am
I encourage anyone who loved C2 to send an email to bring.back.c2@gmail.com which will serve as your signing of a petition to bring back C2. I will get as many signatures as I can and deliver a list of consumer emails to the Coca-Cola company. If you would like, feel free to indicate anything else you would like, such as “I drank 3 cans a day”, “I’ve been a Coke drinker all my life and switched to C2, and will never switch back and Coke Zero tastes like puke….Coke has lost my business forever.” I can aggregate responses and put a good spin on it for them, to try to give them proof of just how much business they’re losing. Worth a shot!
February 24th, 2007 at 9:59 am
i am so angry that c2 was discontinued.
i am a gastric bypass patient who cant drink 1000000 grams of sugar per can like most soda. also, aspartame gives me a headache, and diet coke and coke zero taste GARBAGE. i loved c2. what happened??? BRING IT BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!
VIRGINIA
MESA, AZ
February 24th, 2007 at 7:22 pm
I am so sad that C2 has gone away. I just drank my last can last week. I’m trying to do some mix and match of different colas (for example, coke and diet rite cola) but they are just not the same. Coke got the formulation just right with the C2 product (I liked the pepsi edge too, but liked coke more).
March 1st, 2007 at 5:37 pm
Months after C2 has left the Indianapolis, IN area, I’m still wishing I had some.
I am so pissed at Coke that unless they bring it back, I will not be drinking another coke unless by accident. I can’t stand the taste now of regular coke. As a matter of fact, Pepsi is more palletable than a regular coke now. I cannot stand diet aftertaste and will not even try coke zero.
I wonder if other people have switched to drinking Pepsi instead of Coke?
I wonder how many people will be so mad at coke that they will never buy it again and now buy from their rival?
Of course corporate wants to distance themselves from the problem. They want people to be pissed at their local bottler, not COKE!
If you want to make Coke change their minds….DON’T BUY ANY OF THEIR PRODUCTS. DON’T SUPPORT SOMEONE WHO TOOK AWAY SOMETHING YOU REALLY LIKED!!!
As for me, I’m done. I don’t even like to eat out at places that serve coke now. If they do, I drink iced tea.
Thanks Coke! NOT!!!!!!!
March 4th, 2007 at 11:41 am
Let’s face it. All these posts represent thousands of devoted C2 drinkers. It represents the true mass market for the middle of the road calorie drink that tastes great. C2 drinkers SEARCH for it. That should tell you EVERYTHING you need to know to dump the fad gimmick flavors for a real stable of many devoted non-dieters and non-junkers. C2 is the middle ground that makes the masses feel like they are doing the right thing. And indeed we are. But it has to be available. When I realized that it was hard to find, I bought six 12pks at a time. My ladyfriend a year ago would lovingly take a special trip to the store to buy all that they had on the shelf. Everytime I saw the coke guy in the store I expressed appreciation for the C2. I was on a business trip for a month to St. Louis in Feb 07 and looked all over town for C2. I WILL not drink any coca cola diet product. Two years ago I bought Zero and gave the rest of the 12 pk away. Everyone who tried it from that 12 pk HATED it. Why is it still around. C2 is a successful product. Market it as the replacement for Zero and watch it take off!!! Dump the fad flavors. C2 is a basic taste and appeals to everyone who feels they are ‘reasonable’ by drinking a middle calorie drink. You lost us and we influence others. C2 drinkers are movers and shakers. Distribute and market C2.
March 5th, 2007 at 7:32 pm
yep this sucks. I was never able to switch to diet but I loved this drink and I hope this effort will not fall on deaf ears. damn the man.
March 6th, 2007 at 4:24 pm
I just spoke with Coke worldwide headquarters and was told they have officially stopped producing C2 for sale in the U.S. However, it’s still produced and sold in Canada. I called the main Coke headquarters in Canada and confirmed this. I live just across the border from Windsor (near Detroit) so this isn’t terribly awful news for us Detroiters. C2 is carried at all the main supermarkets in Windsor and the Canadian Coke guy told me I can have the store manager order me as many cases as I’d like. Not an ideal situation, but at least we can still get it.
March 7th, 2007 at 6:41 pm
I bought 30 12 packs about 2 months ago, and would buy 30 more if I could find it. Our whole family felt we had finally found a drink that didn’t taste nasty ( Like Diet Coke, Coke zero) I agree, Coke didn’t give it a chance. C2 is/was a GREAT alternative. I still have to diet, but at least it was easier.
I am going to email the above email address requesting that Coke bring it back. Coke really didn’t give it a chance. Our bottleing plant didn’t for sure.
Maybe if we all write to them, they will bring it back.
March 8th, 2007 at 12:56 am
After reading all the above posts, I wonder if Coca Cola could “re-introduce” C-2 Coke as COKE LIGHT. None of our friends had heard of Coke C2 either. They tried one at our house, tryed to find it and couldn’t. Our local bottler only made it for maybe 9 or so months. We then drove 30 miles to another town and bought all they had (which was usually only 9 to 10 12 PKGS) We would call ahead, drive to Wal mart , buy all the C2 they had, and while we were at it, spent another $200.00 or so on groceries. We made this trip many many times during 2005-2006, Finally, the bottler in Arkansas quit C2 altogether.
When were in a very small town in Alabama we ordered 30 12 pkgs at a Piggly Wiggly store. We would definitely have bought more, but we couldn’t carry more weight in our motor home for thousands of miles. We are now down to our last 12 pkg.
Where did Coca Cola come up with the name”C2″ anyway? COKE LIGHT is easily understood. I know for a fact that Millers Lite beer is a huge seller. It is, because the consumer understands they are buying —-a beer with less carbs and calories.
Remember when Coke came out with “new Coke”? People screamed about it, ( Coke was panicky because they thought Pepsi was appealing to younger people), it didn’t go over, Coke fired the executive that came up with the idea, and Coke went right back to the original, and to save face, called the old Coke “Coke Classic”. I think that happened sometime in the late 80’s or early 90’s.
I think what happened with “C2’s, is the consumer just didn’t know about it, and those that did, bought all that was on the shelves, therefore, there was never any available for people to even try it out. Again, when we talked about how much we liked C2″s people would say “what”??
With all the current emphasis on health, Coca-Cola could be on the cutting edge, by gaining a huge share of the soft drink market by re-introducing C2 as COKE LIGHT, just exactly like the beer companies have done. Everybody we know HATES Coke Zero, Diet Coke, and the Rasberry-Vanilla-Lime-Black Cherry Diet Coke. It looks like it would make Coca Cola’s life simpler. JUST MAKE A “COKE LIGHT”, or even better a ‘COKE CLASSIC LIGHT’. I would bet money right now that it would fly off the shelves.
Maybe if all of us suggested this to Coke that might consider it. Remember they made a HUGE mistake by changing the “old Coke”. Someone will have to probably save face, so a way to save face is to re-introduce it under another name, and ADVERTISE IT!!
When we couldn’t get C2 we tryed mixing regular Coke Classic with Diet Coke, and Coke Zero. They both tasted nasty. That same awful after taste. Also, we mixed it in a bottle and it went flat very fast, just like plain Diet Coke. We think Coke Zero is worse. (if that’s possible)
I don’t think Coke will ever be able to sell a “lighter” version of Coke Classic without being clear about what it is.
We certainly can’t and won’t be paying those huge prices to get it out of Canada. I guess we’ll have to switch back to iced tea, but that’s a bummer. It was so nice to be able to enjoy a Coke without ALL the calories and carbs. Surely Coca Cola will reconsider.
I bookmarked this site, and hopefully we can keep each other up dated. Honestly, I never dreamed we would be posting about not being able to buy a product, when there are so many others on the market. Coke finally hit it, and sadly, didn’t even realize it.
March 8th, 2007 at 11:40 pm
Here is somewhat of an update. Today on Fox News Network, they reported that Coke and Pepsi were going to come out with a product with Vitamins. “Due to lagging sales, Coke and Pepsi are coming out with a product that would be healther, since the Nation is becoming much more health conscious”. A Nutritionist spoke afterwards and said: “It is the carbonated water, caramel coloring, and sugar that is unhealthy, and “putting vitamins in their products is rediculous”.
Again, Coke had already offered an alternative by offering the public a product with half the calories, sugar, and carbs and totally missed it by not naming it something that made sense, and also advertising it just like Miller Lite and Bud Lite. I wonder if any of Coke’s executives have even considered that?
March 9th, 2007 at 12:41 pm
Coke needs to have this entire site forwarded to them with a copy sent to Pepsi. Coke has tried adding vanilla, cherry, lemon, lime and coffee to their drinks. I agree that their marketing is sad to say the least. What we should not do is to continue to give them our market share. Find a product not made by Coke, to purchase. I too will bookmark this page and return to it in hopes that we will get this product back. They brought back Classic Coke after their blunder to change the formula. They brought it back because people demanded it. Thank you for the chance to voice my discontent for their decision.
March 9th, 2007 at 5:40 pm
Has anyone made the trip to the southeastern states or Canada for the remaining C2?
March 10th, 2007 at 2:02 pm
I hope all of you that are keeping up with this thread have personally emailed Dale Petries (that posted to this thread 2-21-07), and also ask your friends that liked C2 to email him at bring.back.C2@gmail.com
Dale is going to get this information to Coke.
It is possible that since Coke and Pepsi’s sales are lagging, Coke will reconsider if/when they understand WHY C2 failed. Remember years ago, some executive changed Coke. There was a public out cry, and that is when they brought back the original Coke, and called it Coke Classic. My nephew worked for Coke at one time, and he said the executive with that idea got fired.
BE SURE AND EMAIL DALE at: bring.back.C2@gmail.com and express your opinion.
March 10th, 2007 at 2:09 pm
Has everybody checking this blog emailed Dale Petries (that posted on this thread 2-21-07 with the email address) ? Please write to him and express your opinions about losing C2. Since Coke and Pepsi sales are lagging, perhaps if Coke understands WHY C2 failed, they will bring it back. Remember, when Coke changed the “old Coke” for a new Coke, there was a public out cry, and they brought back the “old Coke” under the name Coke Classic.
We have already emailed Dale, but here is the email address again. He is compiling all of the responses, the least we can do is email him with our opinions as to why C2 failed.
bring.back.C2@gmail.com
March 11th, 2007 at 5:14 pm
Did you guys know that Coca Cola is getting rid of all traditional cans within the next 2 – 3 years? The cans are likely to be replaced by an aluminum bottle (unique shape) and instead of the current coloring, it will be much more vivid.
March 15th, 2007 at 1:55 pm
FYI for Anyone Going to Canada:
We went to Windsor, Ontario last weekend to buy C2. I found it at Sobey’s supermarket. We bought all they had – six 12-packs. It was on sale 3/$9.99CAD, which is $8.49US. Plus, we stopped at the border to get the 15% Provincial/other taxes refunded to us. So… we drove 50 miles round trip (in a Toyota Prius so we barely used a gallon of gas) and spent $17.00 for the six 12-packs. Well worth it to me!
March 15th, 2007 at 5:42 pm
We still think it is unbelievable that Coke and Pepsi’s sales are lagging (per Fox News Network), and Coke has/had a product, that if promoted properly, would definitely sell here in the U.S. -C2–
Surely Coke is keeping up with the current market for different products by reading blogs about their product, such as this one. If Coke is NOT paying attention to this new/current form of consumer communication, they may even fall further behind on sales.
Again, Coke already has a product in C2, if renamed COKE LITE, they would have what calorie counters are looking for. (there’s not many carb counters now because of a former US President stating that he thought all that low carb meat and cheese may have led to 5 heart by-passes).
We live too far away from Canada, so back to Diet Dr. Pepper for us. Maybe Diet Pepsi
COKE EXECUTIVES, ARE YOU READING THIS BLOG????
March 17th, 2007 at 10:04 pm
COKE YOU SUCK!
March 20th, 2007 at 12:03 am
I loved C2. Coke Zero is just terrible. not much different than regular diet Coke. Guess I’ll never switch from regular Coke.
March 21st, 2007 at 8:22 pm
Received this response FROM COCA-COLA to my complaint.
Date: 14 Mar 2007 18:51:51 -0400
From: Coca-Cola Support
Subject: RE: Coca-Cola Web Form
To:
Thank you for contacting The Coca-Cola Company. We appreciate the opportunity to assist you.
Unfortunately, Coca-Cola C2 will be discontinued. As there is only one bottler still producing the product, it will only be available while supplies last in the southeastern region of the U.S. However, please know that in the United States and many other countries, it is a violation of the bottler’s contract for products to be taken from one bottler’s territory to another by a third party. We know this is disappointing, but we hope you will understand.
Please be assured that your feedback is important to us. We’d be more than happy to share your comments and your loyalty to this brand is certainly appreciated.
If you have additional questions or comments to share, please visit feel free to contact us again.
Jennifer
Industry and Consumer Affairs
The Coca-Cola Company
March 21st, 2007 at 11:00 pm
It is unbelievable that they are losing business every single day because people are becoming more calorie conscious. Nabisco and many other companies are packageing their products in 100 calorie packages. The same goes for lower calorie ice cream, and so on. I think Coke might be just like Sears and Roebuck. They were the oldest, biggest retailer in the world and Wal-Mart flew right under their radar.
James, Maybe we all need to send this thread to Pesi. Maybe Pepsi would listen. Obviously, Coke doesn’t intend to bottle a Coke Lite. Coke Zero and Diet Coke just tastes nasty. Both are metallic, and leave a terrible after taste.
Although We’ve always thought Pesi tasted like a flat Coke, maybe Pepsi might be interested in being the “Wal-Mart” of the soft drink world. A good LITE cola of any kind that taste like Coke C2 would go over with the proper promotion and advertising. The Coke executive that thought of the name C2, and the firm that did the advertising for C2 should be fired.
March 22nd, 2007 at 11:22 pm
My two cents for what it is worth. As you may well know, at this time of year, prior to Passover, Coca-Cola comes out with a special “formula” of Coca-Cola Classic and Diet Coke. You see throughout the year Coca-Cola is Kosher. However, at Passover the regular formula of Coke is not kosher. So, Coca-Cola being concerned about losing sales through that time manufacture/bottle (in 2 liter bottles only & in selected regions) a special formulation of Coke called “Passover Coke.” They say it is only in major metropolitan markets (i.e., BIG CITIES), but I have already seen it (as of March 21st) in three grocery stores in and around Austin, Texas.
I like the idea of re-introducing Coke C2 as Lite Coke—I cannot see how this would not be a hit and the “suits” at Coke would be able to “save face.” Who is doing their market research? Who are these people that have no taste that keep recommending these other Coke varieties?
Thanks to all of you who are keeping the fires burning regarding this important matter.
March 23rd, 2007 at 3:06 pm
Maybe all of us that have posted to this thread should join BEVnet, (We did) and post to all the Coke threads going on over on that site. Surely, there’s a Coke executive or two that are in the 21st century of consumer communication that reads on that web-site. If Coke isn’t then they should be.
There is a new thread on BevNet that states that Coke is coming out with a Diet Coke Plus. Everybody over on that site thinks it will just be another version of Diet Coke, and Coke Zero. Both that taste metallic and leave a horrible aftertaste. And again, Coke has/had what the public wants, and that is a compromise. THAT WAS COKE C2.
For those of you reading this blog, you might want to start reading on the BevNet (Bev board). Again, surely Coke is reading on the internet.
March 25th, 2007 at 7:31 pm
But the diet Coke plus is going to be as yet another zero calorie “option,” thus sweetened with an item requiring warnings on the containers and not Splenda-the half calorie sweetener. But it will have vitimins added to it, whoopie!
They arranged the demise of C2 by not stocking it plain and simple. Lagging sales, no! There was quite a bit of competition for the few containers making it into the stores, had they stocked more they would have sold more or as much as they placed on shelves.
They advertised sufficiently for those interested in trying it; remember the ads to the Rolling Stones, you can’t always get what you want (perhaps this was the omen to all the fans they were going to go on to screw over). Had Pepsi maintained its half calorie product you bet C2 would still be there to compete but w/o competition they don’t need to feed the interested market! Shows where their interest is-Pepsi and not their consumers or ex-consumers.
I wont try a diet coke that some dolt has decided to add vitimins too, it’ll still have the warnings over what sweetens it. I have not purchased a Coke product since the day that I found out that their lack of support of the product was being used to claim lacking sales and thus it’s discontinuation! I had purchased their products for over thirty years, C2 came along at a time I needed it to compliment a diet and workout regimen and they pulled the plug on it under false premise. My diet and workout regimen has continued to succeed without their assistance, my irritation with them has not let up since their illegitimate justification of their actions. I’m not sure I would put another penny into their business if they did reissue C2. They lied, they normally announce dropping a product in advance and I’m not sure that they have made official announcement yet. No way to treat a customer base!
Vote with your wallet, take your business elsewhere!
March 27th, 2007 at 10:43 pm
Please join BevBoard.com. I did, and I am posting under the name of liberty. Larry, we are also voting with our wallet. It is my understanding that Coke DOES read on the BevBoard, so MAYBE we might get lucky, and someone from Coke who cares about consumers and not Pepsi (which is also lagging in sales) might read it, and try C2 again by renaming and re-marketing, PLUS STOCK SOME ON THE SHELVES!!
You are right about warnings regarding Vitamins. Cardiologists are warning their patience to cut back on Vit. E. We’re drinking iced tea (really does have antioxidants) right now because we can’t get C2, HATE all the diet products, with possibly the exception of Diet Dr. Pepper that really does taste as nasty as regular Dr. Pepper.
Just in case some of you are still reading this blog, please go over and join the BevBoard. Right now I have been posting on the DIET COKE PLUS thread, but there is a C2 thread going also.
I’m also pretty sure that some bottlers in the southeastern states are bottling C2s.
April 19th, 2007 at 5:30 pm
My wife and I love C2 and serve it all the time to our friends – who, in response, want cases of the soft drink for themselves. We purchased 29 cases in the Cherokee North Carolina area, bottled by the Charlotte bottler back in late January of this year. According to wikipedia, C2 is only being bottled by the Charlotte Bottler as well as some parts of Canada and France. Our Atlanta C2 coke relations group rep said that they were tinkering with the idea of bringing the drink back as a fridge-pack only, if it were to return. It is truly, the best alternative to both sugar and diet drinks alike. We plan on buying another 30 cases when we return to the North Carolina area at the end of this month. Cheers and blessings, Jeremy K.
April 21st, 2007 at 8:14 pm
Why oh why did you leave us C2.Listen what the frick is going on with you Coke ! You bring this wonderfull soda out and then take it away.What the heck is up with that.I gave up drinking Coke after you took C2 off the shelves.I have spent almost 250.00 dollars on almost a whole pallet of C2 because it was so hard to find.Now you replace it with Coke Zero which tastes awful…….BRING BACK C2,BRING BACK C2 BRING BACK C2 BRING BACK C2….ETC…ETC !!!!
May 15th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
I’ve been drinking coke for 42 years (I’m 46). I bought C2 the first day it came out and I’m drinking a glass now. I just called Publix in Columbus GA to order 30 more 12-packs and found out that it’s no longer available. It would have been my 3rd trip since last December when I found out that it was no longer being carried in Atlanta. Turns out several of us from Atlanta were going to the Columbus Publix for the same thing. The Coca-cola company is obviously not listening and not very bright. Maybe they’ll come around – who knows. I’ll just have to drink less classic until I can find something else. I’m going to look for something not produced by CCE. Have you noticed their “attempt” at calorie reduction is the smaller 8 ounce cans of Classic and some of their other products – at a higher price !! Good grief
May 24th, 2007 at 11:21 am
I am so upset about not getting my C2! I tried it late and was only able to make a couple of purchases before I couldn’t find it anymore. I LOVE the fact that it’s not as sweet and since I don’t like diet sodas I am out of luck. Regular soda makes me thirsty if you can believe that!!
HELP me find some or let me know if I can “help the cause” by contacting someone!!!!!!!!!
June 6th, 2007 at 7:19 pm
I am a C2 fan and very upset that is no longer available. It is my favorite product that Coke makes. Let me know if I can help sign anything that would bring it back.
June 21st, 2007 at 6:52 pm
Up until just a few weeks ago, C-2 was available only in 12 packs in Smyrna, TN. It was available in all of the major grocery chains only – Kroger, Publix, Food Lion. Then it just disappeared off of everyone’s shelf at the same time with no advance warning. When I contacted the Nashville office, I was informed that Coca Cola stopped making C2. I am a C2 fan and will continue to search for it.
July 13th, 2007 at 11:58 pm
I love C2. No longer available in Nashville as of June 1. Bring it back!!!!!!!
July 21st, 2007 at 4:28 am
Coke C2 was the BEST…I finally located a case of 12 cans I hope to buy in a few days…After I get those, I will drink 1 can per month for 1 year…LOL
July 23rd, 2007 at 11:27 pm
EVEN IF IT WAS NOT PROFITABLE TO CARRY C-2 IN ALL AREAS, THEY SHOULD AT LEAST CARRY IT IN THE LARGER CITIES, SO THAT US C-2 FANS WOULD HAVE ACCESS TO IT … I AM EVEN WILLING TO PAY A LITTLE BIT MORE FOR IT !!!!!
August 19th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
Please bring back C2. To the Coca Cola folks: Once I discovered it I told many acquaintances about it — they had never heard of it, but everyone was interested because they liked the lower calorie alternative to classic Coke. Why bring out a product and not market it???? Here’s an idea: why not try it once more, and use the internet to reach all these bloggers begging for the product? (In other words, come into the 21st century with your marketing.) Get it back on the shelves and see what happens. Maybe it will be like the time Coke pretended to replace Coke classic with “the new Coke”……
August 21st, 2007 at 11:21 pm
A big zero on C-2 sales in the Michiana area. One less comfort to the elderly. C-2 cut to the very core of my positve taste responses without fading.
Now, sorry to hear of its apparent demise. It is a wonder what a company will do to stimulate better sales while leaving absolutely NO options to the other sector. The people at Coke making the calls on top are well aware of these comments, I’m sure.
So, for those of us wanting just a little more, are there any locals still selling the product that wouldn’t mind a mass convergence and lapping up a little extra by setting up a temp-ship-based sales outlet?
August 26th, 2007 at 9:18 pm
I had two Wal-marts within a 30 minute drive of my home where I bought C2. Yesterday, 8/25/07, I went to one of them in Calera, Alabama and they had removed it from the shelves. My local stores haven’t had it on the shelves for about 6-8 months now. They told me it didn’t sell well enough. I just love the taste of C2. Maybe the Coke company will hear our voices one day and bring it back. Meanwhile, I will treasure the 4 12-packs that I have left. I was afraid of something like this and bought them before it was removed from the shelves.
November 17th, 2007 at 2:53 pm
Just found this website today…so it is official, Coke has cancelled C2…bastards! I’ve been searching all stores in the Vancouver (Canada) area for weeks now and couldn’t find any. I’m pissed. What is wrong with this company? Why would they create the abomination “Zero”? What a brutal name, anyone who tries that garbage would instantly say it was named after it’s flavor as it has none, unless you consider sweaty socks a flavor. I’ve been a life long Coke drinker as my dad worked for these monkey’s (nothing against monkey’s) for 35 years. I absolutely hate the other various diet products. C2 actually brought me back to drinking more coke – classic just has too much sugar for me. Oh well…I suppose I’ll have to resort back to beer.
December 13th, 2007 at 5:44 pm
I just returned from Ottawa where I bought home 8 CASES of Coke C2!!! I don’t know if I found the last of it or what, but it was there. Even better, this Canadian version was made with Sugar not Corn Syrup!! Zoinkies!!! I want more!!
December 15th, 2007 at 5:36 pm
Just bought 17 cases in Vancouver (not about to reveal my secret location!). Thinking about a Facebook Group for C2.
January 17th, 2008 at 11:55 pm
Whatever works, we’d be interested. C-2 was/is the best “diet” drink ever, and Coke never even knew it. Coke expected it to work without any promotion. Again, just light “Bud Lite”, Coke should have named it “Coke LIte”.
January 23rd, 2008 at 11:41 pm
I want my c2 back! I didn’t read all of the comments but I often follow the weight watchers plan and I was in heaven when C2 came out! It didn’t taste like the diet drinks. I refuse to drink a diet coke and I can’t drink regular!!!!! It was only 1 pt for the whole thing!!!! Then all of a sudden they were no longer in the stores. I don’t understand it! They always looked like they had been shopped.
April 30th, 2008 at 3:29 am
C2 was the best. Coca-Cola didn’t learn a thing from the “New Coke” debacle. Unfortunately, the Coca-Cola Company, like most American companies, is run with the Dilbert mentality. I’m a loyal Dilbert reader and more often than not I find it rather sadly accurate in it’s depiction of corporate life.
May 5th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
C2 Was Great. I wrote to coke about it but got the runaround.
July 18th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
I loved C2 as well. If Coke can develop such a wonderful product then one of their competitors should be able to come up with a comparable soda. This link should be sent to all bottlers throughout the country. If Coke thinks their sales are DOWN now, just let us find something on the market we like as well as C2!
September 30th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
Does anyone know who, in particular to get in touch with with regard to this? Even if they produced it at only one facility, I would have it shipped(provided it didn’t work out too unreasonable). We could receive it at a discounted price, compared to retailers, due to the fact that “Coca Cola” and the retailers would not incur the same shipping, distribution, stocking and advertising charges etc. This in turn would off-set the shipping charges for the individual. Ie. you , me and the rest of the C2 fans. There has got to be a way to let Coke know that the have a market for a product the already own, that is being asked for by name! Any idea how many marketing dollars a feat like that takes? If anyone finds a warehouse stocked with C2 or any other viable options, please get in touch ErichXsv1@hotmail.com
May 13th, 2009 at 12:57 am
I totally agree. I had been storing them for months buying everything I could get my hands on, but at last my supply ran out about eight months ago. Dark days indeed.
September 21st, 2009 at 9:08 pm
The folks at Coke should realize that their statistics on C2 sales is somehow skewed if not down right mistaken. I recall here in South Florida the raving about C2 and how great it tasted and how hard it was for folks to find it at the store. Many gas stations and Publix grocery stores carried only a limited number of the cases. I remember hearing people asking store managers to carry it. Truly I have never seen people ask for a soda so often in my life.
It’s like a fond memory now that its been years since it was taken off the shelf. I don’t think poor sales was the reason it was pulled. It was prob more corporate internal politics that led to it’s demise. A shame really since it was the only diet alternative out there that tasted great.
I bought cases of the stuff. I love Coke and I felt C2 was smoother to drink.. not so sugary and also was more crisp. I hope they bring it back.
October 28th, 2009 at 12:43 am
What ever happened to C2 cokes?
Why stop making it?
When I was walking into a store, one of the people that work there was advertising C2 and asked of we would like to try some, we said yes, and he told us where we could get it. But now as I walk through the same store and different ones I can never find it.