Diet Coke turns 25

July 16, 2007 It’s just 25 years since Diet Coke burst onto the scene and forever changed the beverage landscape by catering to a society paying homage to a healthy lifestyle. So well did Diet Coke hit the mark that it is now a business school text book case study, as the most valuable brand extension in marketing history and the most successful launch in beverage history. The brand was launched in the United States on July 29, 1982, and was so immediately successful that it was followed just six months later with an international roll-out. By 1984, it was the number three sparkling beverage in the United States, a title it has held since. In 1986, it became the number one low-calorie sparkling beverage in the world. Today the brand, including both Diet Coke and Coca-Cola Light, is available in 173 countries and has a 40 percent share of the global diet sparkling beverage segment. For those who worship at the altar of smoke and mirrors, there’s a commemorative can.

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