Coke is set to change the recipe for its Coca Cola Zero Sugar drink.

The company will be making a change in the recipe of the drink as the company tries to make the drink taste more like the regular Coke, Coca Cola said Tuesday.

The company will also change the look of the can – it will now be completely red based instead of the current red and black combination.

This move from the company follows it discontinuing some of its struggling brands and is focusing its resources on some of the trademark products of the company – including Coke, Coke Zero Sugar and Diet Coke.

The new version of Coke Zero Sugar is hoped to be more attractive for consumers, the company said.

“Despite its enormous success, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar still represents a relatively small percentage,” of the Coke brand, said CEO James Quincey during an April analyst call discussing first quarter results.

“The improved recipe brings its taste even closer to that [of] the iconic Coca-Cola,” he said, adding that “this was influenced by consumer insight and our focus on constant improvement,” he added,

The current version will be replaced by the new one and the company is rolling it out in the United States later this month and in Canada in September. The product in some international markets have has already been updated by Coca Cola. However in the markets where the e changes have been made, there are questions being asked by a section of consumers over the move.

“What have you done to my favourite drink coke zero sugar?” one despondent fan tweeted. “The new recipe is shocking. I won’t be buying another can until you fix your mistake and bring back the old flavour.” Another wrote that the new version helped break an addiction to the product because “the new taste is so bad.”

What exact changes in the recipe of the drink in the United States were not detailed by the company. However, it noted that the new version should taste “more refreshing and delicious.”

The changes would be appealing to customers, the company is confident.

“We pre-tested both the new recipe and the new look, with current Coca-Cola Zero Sugar consumers and non-consumers,” said Rafael Prandini, category lead of Coca-Cola Trademark in North America. “And they really love it.” The results the company has seen from these launches are “very encouraging,” he said.

Coke Zero was launched by the company in 2005. It was rebranded as Coca Cola Zero Sugar in 2017 after it made some changes to its recipe. However some consumers were upset by the change at that time.

However the product ultimately was accepted by consumers and it grew by 4 per cent in 2020 in terms of volume of sale which helped an overall growth in the Coke brand. The company also reported an 8 per cent growth in Coca Cola Zero Sugar in the first quarter of 2021.

(Adapted from CNN.com)