There is a God

Breaking News

Coca-Cola Co., the world's largest soft drink maker, said on Friday it would phase out its Vanilla Coke, Vanilla Diet Coke and Diet Coke With Lemon beverages in the United States by end of this year.
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The announcement came a day after Coca-Cola said it would phase out Vanilla Coke and Vanilla Diet Coke in the United Kingdom early next year. The company said sales have declined.
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The company said Vanilla Coke, which was introduced in the United States in 2002 and Diet Vanilla Coke in 2003, could return sometime in the future. Details about whether Diet Coke With Lemon, which made its U.S. entry in 2001, would be brought back were not available.

Why are they doing this? I mean I would swear that I see more people drinking the vanilla and lemon flavored stuff each day. It seems that I am wrong.

The phase out follows declining sales for the brands in the United States. Vanilla Coke sales slipped to 35 million unit cases in 2004 from 90 million unit cases in 2002, while Vanilla Diet Coke sales dropped to 13 million unit cases last year from 23 million unit cases in 2003, according to Beverage Marketing, a beverage research and consulting firm.

Sales of Diet Coke with Lemon have fallen to 9.9 million unit cases in 2004 from 24 million unit cases in 2001, data showed.

My wife will be saddened by the news...but this tells me that there is a God...

...That is until I read this part in the article:

Coca-Cola added that it plans to introduce Diet Black Cherry Vanilla Coke and Black Cherry Vanilla Coke in the United States in January 2006.

My taste buds are wishing the vanilla line good riddance.

Why do I feel so strongly about this? Because about a year ago coke changed the diet vanilla coke cans to look almost indistinguishable from diet coke...and I'm sick of picking up what I think is Diet Coke only to be sideswiped with that horrid vanilla taste.

Good riddance.