"New Coke"

On April 23, 1985, The Coca‑Cola Company announced that it would be changing the formula of its flagship product for the first time in 99 years. The result was “New Coke,” a reformulated version developed after taste tests with nearly 200,000 consumers. But while the company believed it was reenergizing the brand, the public saw it as an act of sacrilege.

Consumer backlash was swift and fierce. Protest groups emerged, thousands flooded the company’s hotline…