Coke jumps on a nostalgic trend with new Coca-Cola Orange Cream flavour

This undated photo shows Coca-Cola Orange Cream. (Coca-Cola via AP)

A year after the launch of the short-lived Coca-Cola Spiced, Coke is adding another new flavour to its lineup.

Coca-Cola Orange Cream is scheduled to go on sale Feb. 10 in the U.S. and Canada. It will be sold in regular and zero sugar varieties.

Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Co. said Monday that it developed the soda, which mixes cola with orange and vanilla flavours, in response to growing consumer demand for the comforting, nostalgic flavour.

Orange cream — first introduced with the Creamsicle ice cream bar in 1937 – has enjoyed a recent renaissance. Olipop, a probiotic soda, introduced an orange cream flavour in 2021. Carvel reintroduced its Orange Dreamy Creamy ice cream last year for the first time since 1972. Wendy’s also debuted an Orange Dreamsicle Frosty last spring.

Coca-Cola has been experimenting with new flavours to help keep customers engaged with its signature product. In 2022, it launched Coca-Cola Creations, a series of limited-edition Coke flavours in colorful cans and bottles. Coke added hints of coconut, strawberry and even Oreos to the drinks.

The company introduced raspberry-flavoured Coca-Cola Spiced last February, saying the offering would be a permanent addition to its lineup. But the company abruptly pulled Coca-Cola Spiced off the market in September, saying it would be replaced with a new flavour this year.

Coke said Coca-Cola Orange Cream won’t be a permanent flavour but would remain on sale at least through the first quarter of 2026.

In an interview last year, Coca-Cola’s North American marketing chief, Shakir Moin, said it used to take the company at least a year to develop a new product. But it’s trying to move more quickly.

“Consumers are moving faster. The market is moving forward faster. We’ve got to be faster than the speed of the market,” he said.

Dee-ann Durbin, The Associated Press