Coca-Cola Creations

Coca-Cola Creations are limited edition variants of Coca-Cola first introduced in 2022 designed to appeal to younger consumers.^[1] The flavors use non-traditional branding to spark conversation.^[2]

Variants

Starlight

Coca-Cola Starlight

Bottle of Coca-Cola Starlight
Type	Cola
Manufacturer	The Coca-Cola Company
Country of origin	United States
Introduced	February 21, 2022
Discontinued	August 1, 2022
Color	Red
Variants	Coca-Cola Starlight Zero Sugar
Related products	Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola Starlight was a limited-edition variant of Coca-Cola. Introduced in 2022 as the first in the Coca-Cola Creations line, it was produced and distributed by the Coca-Cola Company and its bottlers. The beverage features a red color and a unique taste "inspired by space". In the United Kingdom, where it was a Zero Sugar variant, it was known as Coca-Cola Intergalactic.^[3] In South Korea, it was known as Coca-Cola Stardust. In Thailand, it was known as Coca-Cola Starshine.

History

The Coca-Cola Company announced the release of Coca-Cola Starlight on February 17, 2022. In a press statement, the company revealed the beverage has a "reddish hue" and that "Its taste includes additional notes reminiscent of stargazing around a campfire, as well as a cooling sensation that evokes the feeling of a cold journey to space." Oana Vlad, senior director for global brand strategy at the company, stated that the drink was inspired by Coca-Cola's partnership with NASA.^[4] Coca-Cola Starlight was launched alongside Coca-Cola Creations, an innovation platform of The Coca-Cola Company focused on selling limited-edition flavors of Coca-Cola. It landed in North American stores on February 21, 2022, and is also sold in Coca-Cola Zero Sugar format.^[4][5] It was discontinued on August 1, 2022^[6] and succeeded by Coca-Cola Dreamworld later that month.^{[citation needed]}

Flavor

Prior to the release of Coca-Cola Starlight, there were speculations as to its flavor. Among them were raspberry (originating from a 2009 study that the center of the galaxy may taste like raspberries) and s'mores.^[7][8]

Many have described the taste as similar to that of fruit, vanilla or cotton candy. Junk food review site Candy Hunting stated it "tastes like strawberry, marshmallow, and/or cotton candy".^[9] Aly Walansky of Food Network wrote it tastes "kind of like minty cotton candy sprinkled with vanilla".^[10]

Byte

Coca-Cola Byte was launched in April 2022 and was described as "metaverse inspired".^[11]

Marshmello

Coca-Cola Marshmello was launched in June 2022 in collaboration with artist Marshmello.^[12] It had "strawberry and watermelon flavors".^[13]

Dreamworld

Coca-Cola Dreamworld was launched in August 2022 and was described as tapping into "Gen Z’s passion for the infinite potential of the mind by exploring what a dream tastes like."^[14]

Soul Blast

Coca-Cola Soul Blast was launched exclusively in Japan, China, Taiwan in October 2022 alongside Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War. It had an "action flavor."^[15]

Move

Coca-Cola Move was the Creations brand's first launch of 2023 in February, in collaboration with Spanish singer Rosalía. It had a "transformation" flavor.^[16]

Ultimate

Coca-Cola Ultimate was launched on June 10th, 2023, in collaboration with League of Legends developer Riot Games.^[17] It was sold in Turkey, China, the United States, and Egypt, and had an "+XP" flavor.

Y3000

Coca-Cola Y3000 was launched in September 2023 and was co-created with artificial intelligence.^[18] It is sold in the USA, Argentina, Australia,^[19] China,^[20] Kazakhstan, Georgia, South Africa, and Turkey.

Happy Tears

Coca-Cola Happy Tears was launched on February 17th, 2024 as a TikTok Shop exclusive in the USA and Great Britain to celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Day. The soft drink's flavor was described by the company as a combination of the "timeless Coke taste infused with a salty splash of minerals for taste and a sweet pinch of peach".

K-Wave

Coca-Cola K-Wave was launched on February 20th, 2024 as an exclusive available on the company's online store. The "Fruity Fantasy flavored" soft drink comes in a specialty box that holds four 12-ounce cans of the drink, as well as a 3D sticker sheet and an invitation for exclusive streaming access to the upcoming Coca-Cola K-Wave concert set to be held in Incheon, Korea on June 2nd, 2024.

References

This page was last edited on 12 April 2024, at 14:35