Coke Zero and Diet Coke are Coca Cola's low-calorie sodas with artificial sweeteners. The difference is the target market segments: Coke Zero is Coca Cola's product line aimed at men, and Diet Coke is aimed at women. The other difference is flavor: Diet Coke has a distinct taste of its own, but Coke Zero is made to taste like regular Coke.
Coke Zero is also called Coca-Cola Zero, and Diet Coke is branded Coke Light or Coca-Cola Light in some countries.
|Coca-Cola Zero||Diet Coke|
|Manufacturer||The Coca-Cola Company||The Coca-Cola Company|
|Targeted at||Young adult males||Women|
|Flavors and Variants||Coke Zero, Coca-Cola Cherry Zero, Coca-Cola Vanilla Zero, Caffeine Free Coca-Cola Zero, Coca-Cola Lime Zero||Diet Coke, Diet Coke Caffeine-Free, Diet Coke with Lemon, Diet Coke with Lime, Diet Raspberry Coke, Diet Black Cherry Vanilla Coke, Diet Coke Sweetened with Splenda, Diet Coke Plus|
|Ingredients||Carbonated water, caramel color, phosphoric acid, aspartame, potassium benzonate, natural flavors, potassium citrate, acesulfame potassium, caffeine||Carbonated water, caramel color, aspartame, phosphoric acid, potassium benzonate, natural flavors, citric acid, caffeine|
|Taste||Similar to regular Coke||Diet coke does not taste like regular Coke.|
|Sweetener||A blend of aspartame and acesulfame-K||A blend of aspartame and acesulfame-K|
|Food Acid||Potassium citrate||Citric acid|
|Caffeine||9.6 mg per 100 ml||12.8 mg per 100 ml|
|Slogans||Real Coca-Cola Taste AND Zero Calories; Great Taste, Zero Sugar||Always Great Taste; Just for the Taste of It|
|Main Competitor||Pepsi Max||Diet Pepsi|
Coke Zero and Diet Coke Variations
The Coca-Cola Company makes both Coke Zero and Diet Coke.
The company introduced Coke Zero in 2005. Coke Zero currently comes in the following flavors: Coca-Cola Cherry Zero, Coca-Cola Vanilla Zero and Coca-Cola Lime Zero. It also comes in caffeine-free. The brand is sold as Coca-Cola Zero in some other countries.
The Coca-Cola Company introduced Diet Coke in 1982. Currently Diet Coke comes in the following flavors: Diet Coke with Lemon, Diet Coke with Lime, Diet Raspberry Coke and Diet Black Cherry Vanilla Coke. It also comes in three variations: Diet Coke Caffeine-Free, Diet Coke Sweetened with Splenda and Diet Coke Plus. Diet Coke is branded Coke Light or Coca-Cola Light in some countries.
Nutrition and Ingredients
Both Coke Zero and Diet Coke have the same ingredients base: Carbonated water, caramel color, phosphoric acid, potassium benzonate, natural flavors, acesulfame potassium and caffeine. Both use the same sweetener, a blend of aspartame and acesulfame-K. Both Coke Zero and Diet Coke are sugar-free. The calories are negligible enough that the company is able to advertise both as zero-calorie. Neither Coke Zero nor Diet Coke has any fat, carbohydrates or protein. The both have 70 milligrams of sodium.
- Food acid: Coke Zero has potassium citrate, while Diet Coke has citric acid.
- Caffeine content: 9.6 mg per 100 ml for Coke Zero and 12.8 mg per 100 ml for Diet Coke.
The Coca-Cola Company created Coke Zero to taste like regular Coke without the sugar or calories. Diet Coke, on the other hand, has a unique flavor profile.
One of the biggest differences comes in the target market of each product. The company produced Diet Coke and initially advertised the product for both men and women. However, the target audience eventually became just women, especially calorie-conscious ones. Diet Coke’s main competing product is Diet Pepsi. The product has had a couple slogans: “Just for the Taste of It” and “Always Great Taste.”
Advertising for Coke Zero has primarily targeted a male audience. The main competitor is Pepsi Max. Their slogans are “Great Taste, Zero Sugar” and “Real Coca-Cola Taste AND Zero Calories.”
Prices for soda vary depending upon the retailer. In general, Diet Coke prices tend to be slightly higher than Coke Zero. Some people like to store carbonated drinks in bulk, for occasional entertaining, and because buying in bulk is cheaper. Here are the current prices on Amazon.com, usually at a discount.
Coca Cola and Health
Studies show a strong connection between consumption of Coke (and other carbonated drinks) and mental health issues. There is also increased awareness about regular consumption of coke leading to obesity.
An Internet user created a satirical take on a Coca-Cola commercial under the alias John Pemberton to raise awareness of the harmful effects of Coke, and how a significant part of the obesity problem in America may be related to regular consumption of sugary drinks like Coke. The parody quickly went went viral.
- FAQs on Coca-Cola's website
- Coke Zero ingredients and health concerns - Wikipedia
- Fact sheet on Coca-Cola's website about different sweeteners they use in their products
- More info from Coke about sweeteners
- Coca-Cola UK FAQ
- Diet Coke vs. Coca-Cola Zero: What's The Difference? - The Huffington Post
- Additives and Labels - Catherine Saxelby's Foodwatch
- Wikipedia: Diet Coke
- Wikipedia: Coca-Cola Zero
- Wikipedia: List of Coca-Cola slogans