Mistake: Coca-Cola tampered with their
successful formula.
Coca-Cola® was launched in the 1880s. By 1980, it had been the most
popular soft drink in the world for nearly 100 years. However, by that time
Coke had more competition, and its sales fi gures started slipping. In an eff ort
to boost sales, Coca-Cola created a new, improved formula. This new formula
was tested in 200,000 taste tests, and the results were clear: most people
much preferred the fl avor to the original Coke. The Coca-Cola Company
decided to stop producing the formula they had been using for 100 years
and to replace it with New Coke. This was an enormous marketing mistake.
People were outraged that the original Coke was no longer available, and
New Coke was a fl op. Coca-Cola executives must have been surprised! They
had to get rid of New Coke quickly and bring back the original formula.