Latest news with #James Quincey
Fox News
7 days ago
- Business
- Fox News
Coca-Cola CEO Shares A Tasty Announcement
Corn syrup is out; cane sugar is in! Coca-Cola announced in a press release on Tuesday that it will release a new line of its trademark Cola products, sweetened with U.S. cane sugar instead of corn syrup, as a potentially healthier option. In an exclusive interview on The Claman Countdown, Chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola, James Quincey , shares the creative process behind the company's new project and their excitement for the brand's fans to taste it. He describes that they're in the final stage of the development stage, with only a few more steps to go. Now, it's up to Americans' taste buds to see which Cola beverage they like better.
Sky News
22-07-2025
- Business
- Sky News
Coca-Cola to launch cane sugar-made drink in US after Trump said 'it's just better'
Coca-Cola will launch a version of its signature drink in the US made with cane sugar days after Donald Trump said he had spoken to the company about the move. The iconic beverage is sweetened with cane sugar in Mexico but has been made with high-fructose corn syrup in the US since the 1980s to save costs. However many US consumers, including Mr Trump, believe the Mexican version tastes better. The US president, known to be a big lover of both Coke and its diet variety, posted on his Truth Social platform last week 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". He added: "I'd like to thank all of those in authority at Coca-Cola. This will be a very good move by them - You'll see. It's just better!" Coca-Cola didn't confirm the move at the time but said it would share details on new products soon. In an earnings release this morning, the company said a version of its flagship drink made with US cane sugar would be available on the American market later this year, Sky News' US partner network NBC News reports. The drink will complement Coca-Cola's existing product line in the United States, the company added. Meanwhile, Coca-Cola chairman and chief executive James Quincey said in a conference call with investors today that the move shows the company is expanding its product range "to reflect consumer interest in differentiated experiences". He added: "We appreciate the president's enthusiasm for our Coca-Cola brand. "This addition is designed to complement our strong core portfolio and offer more choice across occasions and preferences." The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment after the Coca-Cola announcement. In the US, Coca-Cola made with cane sugar is colloquially known as "Mexican Coke" as it is often imported into the country from its southern neighbour. Sky News' US correspondent Martha Kelner is one of those who prefers the so-called "Mexican" variety. She told the Trump 100 podcast last week: "In support of the president of the United States on a very important issue... Coke in Mexico is way better than Coke in the US, there's no doubt about it." Coca-Cola in the UK and other European nations is mostly sweetened with beet sugar but some cane sugar is also used, the company said in 2011. Is sugar-switch a 'MAHA' move? The Trump administration's Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) initiative has pushed food companies to alter their formulations to remove ingredients such as artificial dyes. A report by the MAHA Commission, a panel convened by Trump and tasked with identifying the root causes of chronic disease, has earlier said substantial consumption of high-fructose corn syrup could play a role in childhood obesity and other conditions. However, while taste preferences may differ, the health impact of cane sugar and high-fructose corn syrup is reported to be essentially the same. Mr Kennedy has been critical of the amount of sugar consumed in the American diet and has said that updated dietary guidelines released this summer will advise Americans to eat "whole food". Trump's Coke habit The US president reinstated his Diet Coke button to the Oval Office when he returned to the White House for a second term in January. He presses it to order a delivery to his desk. In 2012, Mr Trump wrote on social media that Diet Coke "makes you happy". During the same year he wrote on Twitter, now called X, that the "Coca Cola company is not happy with me - that's okay, I'll still keep drinking that garbage". More than a decade later in January this year, Mr Quincey travelled to Mr Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and presented him with a custom bottle commemorating his upcoming inauguration.
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Coca-Cola to Launch Trump-Approved Version of Drink in U.S.
President Donald Trump looks on during the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 26, 2024, in Concord, North Carolina. Credit - Jared C. Tilton—Getty Images Coca-Cola has announced that it will be introducing a cane sugar version of its leading soda product to the U.S. market this fall, confirming President Donald Trump's pre-emptive announcement made days earlier. The new offering of Coca-Cola will be available in the U.S. alongside the iconic version, which uses high fructose corn syrup as a sweetener and will remain unchanged. (Diet and Coke Zero products use aspartame and other artificial sweeteners.) The soda company said that the upcoming availability of the cane sugar product is part of its 'ongoing innovation agenda.' 'This addition is designed to complement the company's strong core portfolio and offer more choices across occasions and preferences,' Coca-Cola said on Tuesday in its second quarterly update of the year. The company's chairman and CEO James Quincey elaborated further on a conference call with investors, during which he referenced Trump's recent comments and praised his interest in the matter. 'We appreciate the President's enthusiasm for our Coca-Cola brand,' he said. 'We are definitely looking to use the whole tool kit of available sweetening options.' Read More: Here's What the New Coke Tasted Like in the 1980s Trump, who reportedly has a button at his desk in the Oval Office to request Diet Coke, had pre-emptively announced the ingredient change on July 16. 'I have been speaking to Coca-Cola about using REAL cane sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so. This will be a very good move by them. You'll see. It's just better,' he said on Truth Social. Coca-Cola produced in Mexico contains cane sugar. It's sold in the U.S. and is widely referred to as 'Mexican Coke' and is known for its long-neck glass bottle presentation. Cane sugar is also used in Coca-Cola produced in other countries across the rest of the world. The U.S. began importing the Mexican version of the beverage in 2005, and it is preferred by some in the U.S. over the domestic product. Corn syrup has been used in the production of Coca-Cola in the U.S. since 1984, when the soda company announced a switch from traditional sugar cane and sugar beet. Analysts suggested that the change was due to the lower costs of the corn alternative, and the decline of the sugar market as artificial sweeteners become increasingly popular. Whilst corn syrup has traditionally been produced more than other sweeteners in the United States, cane and beet sugar has become more readily available for U.S. consumers over the last decade. The United States Department of Agriculture has not published exact recent figures on corn syrup production, but it said in 2016 that domestic production had fallen almost 20% in the previous decade. There continues to be a debate over the use of cane sugar vs. corn syrup in Coca-Cola and whether one is healthier than the other. Read More: RFK Jr. Says Ultra-Processed Foods Are 'Poison'—But That He Won't Ban Them Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in April said that 'sugar is poison.' Amid his campaign to 'Make America Healthy Again,' Kennedy has referred to high-fructose corn syrup as "a formula for making you obese and diabetic." Over the weekend, Kennedy celebrated the Steak 'n Shake restaurant chain after it announced it would start offering Coca-Cola with real cane sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup. 'MAHA is winning,' Kennedy said of the news. However, some nutritionists are not convinced the switch will make too much difference, if any at all. "For all practical purposes, they're the same. I find the switch to be nutritionally hilarious," nutritionist and professor of food studies at New York University Marion Nestle told Associated Press last week. "They taste the same. They have the same number of calories. They do exactly the same things in the body. Everybody would be healthier eating less of both of them." Contact us at letters@ Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Khaleej Times
22-07-2025
- Business
- Khaleej Times
Coca-Cola plans US cane sugar alternative after Trump push
Coca-Cola on Tuesday said it would release a version of Coke in the United States made with US-grown real cane sugar, a move requested by President Donald Trump. "We're going to be bringing a Coke sweetened with US cane sugar into the market this fall, and I think that will be an enduring option for consumers," said CEO James Quincey on a call with analysts. The company currently uses high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) for many of its US products — a sweetener that has long drawn criticism from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his "Make America Healthy Again" agenda. Trump last week said that the company had agreed to use cane sugar in the United States version of Coke. "This will be a very good move by them — You'll see. It's just better!" Trump wrote on Truth Social. Coca-Cola at the time did not confirm the move even if it said it appreciated Trump's "enthusiasm" for its brand. In announcing the new option, Quincey insisted that the main Coke product would still be made with corn syrup, with the cane sugar version offered as an alternative. Mexican Coke — which is made with cane sugar — is often sold at a premium in US stores and prized for its more "natural" flavour. The US president did not explain what motivated his push for the change, which would not impact his well-known favorite beverage, Diet Coke. Since his return to the White House, Trump has reinstalled a special button in the Oval Office that summons a helping of the sugar-free carbonated drink. HFCS became popular in the 1970s, with its use skyrocketing thanks to government subsidies for corn growers and high import tariffs on cane sugar. Any shift away from corn is likely to draw backlash in the Corn Belt, a Midwestern region that has been a stronghold of support for Trump. Both HFCS and sucrose (cane sugar) are composed of fructose and glucose, but differ at the structural level. Those differences don't appear to significantly affect health outcomes, according to research. Trump's preferred Diet Coke is sweetened with aspartame — a compound classified as a "possible carcinogen" by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
The Guardian
22-07-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Coca-Cola to launch Coke with cane sugar in the US after Trump post
Coca-Cola has laid out plans to launch a product made with US cane sugar this year, days after Donald Trump claimed the company had agreed to replace high-fructose corn syrup. The company announced the change in a quarterly earnings report released on Tuesday. On a conference call with investors, Coca-Cola's chairperson and CEO, James Quincey, said the company planned 'to expand our trademark … product range with US cane sugar to reflect consumer interest in differentiated experiences'. Quincey said the new offering would 'complement' Coca-Cola's core portfolio of drinks, suggesting it could arrive as an alternative, rather than a replacement, for its flagship Coke product. 'This is really an 'and' strategy and not an 'or' strategy,' Quincey said, according to the Wall Street Journal. 'We are going to continue to use a lot of the corn syrup that we do now.' The drink maker's Mexican Coke is made with cane sugar and already sold in the US – but often at nearly twice the price. Additionally, the US doesn't make enough cane sugar to satisfy demand in the country. Tuesday's announcement from Coca-Cola came as food and drink companies have rolled out plans to make changes amid 'Make America healthy again' (Maha) campaign of the US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr. However, experts say that drinks made with cane sugar instead of corn syrup are not necessarily healthier. Eva Greenthal, senior policy scientist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a non-profit consumer advocacy group, previously told CNN: 'Excess consumption of sugar from any source harms health. To make the US food supply healthier, the Trump administration should focus on less sugar, not different sugar.' Coca-Cola had defended its use of corn syrup – a product some blame for soaring US obesity rates – after Trump claimed on 16 July he had convinced the brand to switch to using sugar cane in its US drinks. 'I have been speaking to Coca-Cola about using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so. I'd like to thank all of those in authority at Coca-Cola,' the president said in a social media post. 'This will be a very good move by them – You'll see. It's just better!' Coca-Cola said in a statement that 'high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) – which we use to sweeten some of our beverages – is actually just a sweetener made from corn. It's safe; it has about the same number of calories per serving as table sugar and is metabolized in a similar way by your body.' It added that the American Medical Association (AMA) 'has confirmed that HFCS is no more likely to contribute to obesity than table sugar or other full-calorie sweeteners'. And it said: 'Please be assured that Coca-Cola brand soft drinks do not contain any harmful substances.' In 2023, the AMA released a statement saying it recognized 'that at the present time, insufficient evidence exists to specifically restrict use of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) or other fructose-containing sweeteners in the food supply or to require the use of warning labels on products containing HFCS'. Initially, the drinks giant responded with a neutral statement of appreciation for 'president Trump's enthusiasm' for Coke, and a vague message about 'new innovative offerings within our Coca-Cola product range' to come. The soft drinks company released an additional statement making positive claims about high-fructose corn syrup. The Associated Press and Reuters contributed
