Coke Will Drop 'Classic' Tag from Labels

Coke's Vio is only the latest in ill-conceived beverages

(NEWSER) - Coke is currently testing Vio, a carbonated-milk drink it hopes will capture the US market—but Time is a little skeptical. Here are some other misbegotten beverage ideas:

• Coors Rocky Mountain Sparkling Water. Prominent placement of the Coors logo made the company’s spring water look a lot like a beer.
• Thanksgiving Dinner Soda. Everyone likes Thanksgiving, but the idea of turning dinner courses into soft drinks—Turkey and Gravy, Green Bean Casserole, and Fruitcake were flavors—didn’t quite work out for Jones Soda.

Would be Coke's biggest purchase

(NEWSER) - Coca-Cola is considering a monster purchase to get a bigger foothold in the world of energy drinks. The largest soft-drink company on the planet is in talks to buy Monster Beverage in what would be its biggest brand acquisition: Monster has a market capitalization of $11 billion, and the company is growing fast. At $1.7 billion, its 2011 annual revenue marked a 31% increase from 2010, and its fourth-quarter numbers were equally impressive, the Wall Street Journal reports. But the matter isn't settled: Coke may see Monster, which trades at 30 times its estimated 2012 earnings, as too expensive. The company's stock price has nearly doubled over the past year. More»

New Zealand family faults company

(NEWSER) - A 30-year-old New Zealand woman died of a heart attack in 2010, and her death has been linked to her consumption of about 2 gallons of Coca-Cola every day for several years. Natasha Marie Harris consumed about 4,000 calories of regular Coke daily, reports CBS News . "The first thing she would do in the morning was have a drink of Coke and the last thing she would do in the day was have a drink of Coke by her bed," her partner testified at an inquest this week. "She was addicted to Coke." The family wants warning labels on the product, notes the New Zealand Herald . More»

Joins Coke, Pepsi in ditching conservative ALEC group

(NEWSER) - In January, it was Pepsi; earlier this week, it was Coke . Now Kraft is leaving the American Legislative Exchange Council, which supports laws like Florida's "stand your ground" rule. The food company won't be renewing its membership in the conservative group "for a number of reasons, including limited resources," a rep tells Politico . More»

Pepsi exited conservative organization in January

(NEWSER) - Coca-Cola has ended its membership in a conservative group that backs "stand your ground" laws like the one at the center of the Trayvon Martin case. Much of what the American Legislative Exchange Council promotes is pro-business legislation, but it has also pushed voter ID laws and stand-your-ground laws across the country, NPR reports. "We have a longstanding policy of not taking positions on issues that don't have a direct bearing on our company or on our industry," says a Coke rep. More»