Coca-Cola to launch new version of Coke sweetened with U.S.-grown cane sugar

Coca-Cola said it will roll out a new version of its signature soft drink that will be sweetened with cane sugar instead of corn syrup — days after President Trump posted about it on social media.

“As part of its ongoing innovation agenda, this fall in the United States, the company plans to launch an offering made with US cane sugar to expand its Trademark Coca-Cola product range,” the company said in a Tuesday statement.

The Coke made with US cane sugar will complement the company’s existing product line, the Atlanta-based company added.

Coca-Cola produced for the US market is typically sweetened with corn syrup, while the company uses cane sugar in some other countries, including Mexico and various European countries.

The Tuesday announcement came days after President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that he had “been speaking to Coca-Cola about using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so.”

Trump — who is famously an avid consumer of Diet Coke — also said, “This will be a very good move by them — You’ll see. It’s just better!”

Coca-Cola initially stopped short of confirming Trump’s post. The company told NBC News last week that it appreciated Trump’s “enthusiasm for our iconic Coca-Cola brand” but that “details…will be shared soon.”

In the United States, Coca-Cola made with cane sugar is colloquially known as “Mexican Coke” as it’s often imported from the United States’ southern neighbor.

Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey discussed the coming product on an earnings call Tuesday morning, telling investors that the company already uses cane sugar in the company’s tea, lemonade, coffee and Vitamin Water offerings.

“I think that it will be an enduring option for consumers,” he said.

“We are definitely looking to use the whole toolkit of available sweetening options where there are consumer preferences.”

The Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative, named for the social movement aligned with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has pushed food companies to alter their formulations to remove ingredients like artificial dyes.

But medical experts warn that health outcomes may not change with the switch in sweetener.

Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, a cardiologist and director of the Food is Medicine Institute at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, told NBC News that “both high fructose corn syrup and cane sugar are about 50% fructose, 50% glucose, and have identical metabolic effects.”

“That is, both can equally raise the risk for obesity, diabetes, high triglycerides and blood pressure,” he said, adding that “both provide the same number of calories, but the body processes them differently.”

The move to transition to cane sugar was also met with pushback from agricultural interests.

John Bode, the CEO of the Corn Refiners Association, said last week that “replacing high fructose corn syrup with cane sugar doesn’t make sense” given Trump’s support of American farmers.

“Replacing high fructose corn syrup with cane sugar would cost thousands of American food manufacturing jobs, depress farm income, and boost imports of foreign sugar, all with no nutritional benefit,” he added in a statement.

Sourcing could also be a factor. US cane sugar is primarily produced in Texas, Florida and Louisiana, according to the Agriculture Department. However, domestic production accounts for only 30% of total US sugar supply. The rest comes from sugar beets or is imported.

Trump has long tied himself publicly to Coca-Cola products. In 2012, he said on Twitter that Coke was not happy with him but “that’s ok, I’ll still keep drinking that garbage.”

Trump also wrote on social media the same year that drinking Diet Coke “makes you happy.”

In January, Quincey traveled to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort and presented him with a custom bottle commemorating his upcoming inauguration.

“President Trump pledged to Make America Healthy Again, and that starts with what we eat and drink,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai told The NY Budgets.

“The Trump administration is committed to partnering with food and beverage companies to expand options for the American people.” 

The NY Budgets has sought comment from HHS, Coca-Cola and the Corn Refiners Association.