Opening Thoughts: Who Won the Cola Wars? New Coke 40 Years Later
July 2, 2025
We thought we’d have some fun in today’s newsletter reminiscing about the 40th anniversary of Coca-Cola’s dramatic reversal of the New Coke formula change in 1985. Check out the story on page 11. Beverage Digest Founder Jesse Meyers writes about a meeting in Rye Brook, New York with Coke legends Roberto Goizueta and Donald Keough, where the executives confirmed the top-secret New Coke project. You can also read (and see) Beverage Digest’s original reports on the New Coke launch and the company’s reversal less than three months later.