Coca-Cola announces plans to launch cane sugar line in the fall after Trump promised it would return
The Coca-Cola Company announced that it will bring back a cane sugar version of its iconic drink less than a week after Donald Trump declared that “it’s just better.”
Just days after the president teased its return, the Atlanta-based beverage goliath announced that it plans to use U.S.-grown cane sugar alongside high-fructose corn syrup in its sodas.
Coca-Cola made clear that the drink, which it says will be launched in the U.S. in the fall, will be an addition to its range rather than a full replacement of ingredients.
“As part of its ongoing innovation agenda, this fall in the United States, the company plans to launch an offering made with U.S. cane sugar to expand its Trademark Coca‑Cola product range,” the company said in its second-quarter earnings report.
“This addition is designed to complement the company’s strong core portfolio and offer more choices across occasions and preferences.”
Trump announced last week that he spoke to Coca-Cola about using “REAL” cane sugar, harking back to the 1980s before the company largely switched to using high-fructose corn syrup.
The president said that company executives “agreed to do so.”
“I’d like to thank all of those in authority at Coca-Cola,” he added. “This will be a very good move by them — You’ll see. It’s just better!”
While the soft drink giant didn’t confirm the change at the time, the company said in a statement it appreciates Trump’s “enthusiasm for our iconic Coca‑Cola brand” and announced that more details on its product range would be “shared soon.”
The proposed push to bring back cane sugar seemed to align with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, including a shift away from high-fructose corn syrup.
There is currently no strong evidence that high-fructose corn syrup is more harmful than cane sugar. When consumed in excess, both can negatively impact health.
While today Coca-Cola in the U.S. is typically made with high-fructose corn syrup, the soda company uses cane sugar in other countries, such as Mexico.
People often praise Mexican Coke for its more natural, authentic taste compared to the modern U.S. version. But in a blind taste test conducted by culinary scientist and food writer J. Kenji López‑Alt for Serious Eats, the majority of participants preferred the corn syrup–sweetened Coke over the cane sugar variety.
Mexican Coke is widely available in U.S. grocery stores – from Walmart to Target – and in areas with large Hispanic communities. There is currently no indication that Mexican-produced beverages will be pulled from U.S. shelves.
After Trump’s announcement last week, U.S. corn growers had warned that a full shift “doesn’t make sense” and would cost thousands of American food manufacturing jobs.
However, placing the onus on using U.S.-grown cane sugar would likely boost demand for producers in states like Louisiana and Florida, where sugarcane is a key crop.
