Coca-Cola hopes a major change will win back customers

Coca-Cola (KO) is continuing to see a startling pattern in its sales as customers shift gears on their drink preferences.

In the company’s second-quarter earnings report for 2025, Coca-Cola revealed that while its operating income in the U.S. increased by 18% year-over-year during the quarter, concrete sales in the region remained flat and unit case volume declined by 1%.

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In the report, the company said that the decrease in unit case volume was mainly due to a “decline in Trademark Coca-Cola.”

During an earnings call on July 22, Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey said that the company’s U.S. business is suffering from “the continued uncertainty and pressure on some socioeconomic segments of consumers.”

“There's some pressure in those with lower incomes,” said Quincey.

He said that Coca-Cola will continue to swiftly take action to reverse low sales, including doubling down on affordability.

“Our granular action plans to win back consumers with contextually relevant advertising, more focused value and affordability initiatives, and close customer partnerships are working,” he said.

Coca-Cola plans to tweak the recipe of a popular beverage.

Image source: Jeff Greenberg/Getty Images

Coca-Cola confirms major change to beverages

In addition to these initiatives, the company also confirmed that it will be going back to sweetening its Coke beverages with cane sugar to help attract health-conscious consumers.

“We're gonna be bringing a Coke, sweetened with U.S. cane sugar into the market this fall,” said Quincey. “And I think that will be an enduring option for consumers.”

He also indicated that Coca-Cola may experiment with using other sweetening options consumers may prefer for its beverages.

“Actually, we use cane sugar in a number of our other brands in the U.S. portfolio from lemonades to teas, some of the coffee stuff, some of the vitamin water drinks,” said Quincey. “So that is blended into some of our other products, and so we are definitely looking to use the whole toolbox, the whole toolkit of available sweetening options to some extent where there are consumer preferences.”

Coca-Cola's announcement comes after President Donald Trump said in a July 1 post on Truth Social that he had a conversation with the company about making this change.

“I have been speaking to Coca-Cola about using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so,” wrote Trump in the post. “I’d like to thank all of those in authority at Coca-Cola. This will be a very good move by them — You’ll see. It’s just better!”

Coca-Cola leans into changing consumer behavior

Many Americans have gradually become more health-conscious about the food and beverages they consume, a trend that spiked in popularity amid the Covid pandemic in 2020. This has impacted the sales of many food and beverage giants.

In the beverage industry specifically, the consumption of soft drinks and other sweetened beverages has been declining since the mid-1990s, according to a recent survey from financial services firm Lazard.

The Lazard survey also revealed that many consumers are choosing to purchase natural, healthy beverages, which contain fewer ingredients and promise health benefits.

Consumers are even less focused on the price of natural, healthy beverages, as 68% of the survey respondents claimed that the drinks' ingredients are a top concern and 67% said that they are concerned about the drinks being all natural.

In 1984, Coca-Cola, like many of its competitors at the time, began rapidly increasing its use of high fructose corn syrup in its soft drinks in the U.S.

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While high fructose corn syrup, which is made from corn, is a less expensive alternative to sugar, it is linked to health issues such as obesity and fatty liver disease since the liver metabolizes fructose.

Consumption of high fructose corn syrup is considered more risky to human health than cane sugar due to its higher levels of CRP/inflammation.

So it is no surprise that consumers are straying away from beverages that contain this ingredient. Instead, new soda brands such as Olipop and Poppi have recently grown in popularity among consumers due to its healthier ingredients.

During the earnings call, Quincey said Coca-Cola will always lean toward evolving consumer preferences.

“We're always, I don't think just us, but I think the industry, given its size, its attractiveness, and its growth potential, we're always looking for opportunities to innovate, and see where there's an intersection of new ideas and where consumer preferences are evolving towards,” said Quincey. “Remembering that actually most innovations don't work in the long run, but I think it's a good sign that, including ourselves, are trying lots of different things.”