Coca-Cola Cherry

Coca-Cola Cherry, also referred to by its original name Cherry Coke, is a cherry-flavored version of Coca-Cola. It is produced and distributed by the Coca-Cola Company and its bottlers in the United States and some international markets. Coca-Cola Cherry was originally launched in 1985, the very first flavored cola to be distributed by the company, and their second ever product extending the original Coca-Cola brand following the launch of Diet Coke in 1982.[1] Today there are also no-calorie variants based on Diet Coke and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar. In addition, the drink is also available microdispensed through Coca-Cola's Freestyle vending machines.

Background

Long before its official introduction in stores in 1985, many diners, drugstore soda fountains and movie theaters dispensed an unofficial version by adding cherry-flavored syrup to Coca-Cola.[2]

Distribution

After its original launch in 1985, the product quickly garnered great interest throughout America. Internationally, Cherry Coke was test marketed in Japan to positive interest. The drink was rolled out to Canada, Puerto Rico, Norway and the Netherlands by the end of 1985.[18] By the end of 1986, availability was expanded to 33 markets around the world.[19]

Since then, the product has been sold on and off in various markets throughout the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania. Cherry Coke was first introduced to New Zealand in 1993[20] and to Australia in 2003.[21] In Japan, it was discontinued a few years after its release, but has since seen limited edition revivals.[22] In Sweden it was also discontinued during the 1980s but was relaunched in the country in 2012.[23]

In Spain, the drink was introduced in 1995 and sold for three years. It returned as a limited edition in 2013 before becoming permanent due to demand.[24] In Poland, Cherry Coke made its debut in 1996 and was sold until 2018, replaced by the Zero Sugar version.[25]

Coca-Cola Cherry returned to the market in Brazil during the 2016 Summer Olympics as a limited edition drink.[26] It launched in Austria permanently in 2025 after having had periodic limited edition runs for ten years.[27]

Diet/Light version

With the success of the original Cherry Coke, Diet Cherry Coke was introduced in 1986[8] as a low-calorie version of the original and the first flavor expansion within the Diet Coke lineup. It has also been marketed in some countries as "Coca-Cola Cherry Light" and "Coca-Cola Light Cherry", while its original name was renamed to "Diet Coke Cherry" in 2005. The drink is also available within Coca-Cola Freestyle machines.

In October 2020, the Coca-Cola Company announced that the drink would be withdrawn from the American market at the end of December 2020.[28] It was announced in January 2025 that Diet Coke Cherry would be returning in stores for a limited time only under its original name of Diet Cherry Coke, exclusively in Kroger stores in the US. In addition, 32 packs would be exclusively available in Costco stores in Canada. The return featured the retro 1980s design of the product.[29] In 2026, it will be revived permanently on store shelves.

type	Cherry cola
manufacturer	The Coca-Cola Company
origin	United States
related	Coca-Cola Black Cherry Vanilla Coca-Cola Cherry Vanilla
variants	Diet Coke Cherry (Coca-Cola Light Cherry) Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Cherry
website	coca-cola.com/cherry

Background

Packaging and marketing

Distribution

Diet/Light version

External links

References

Zero Sugar version