Posted on 12/18/2020 9:35:37 PM PST by thecodont
(CNN)-- RIP, Tab.
After nearly 60 years, Coca-Cola is discontinuing its first-ever diet soda, Tab, which acquired a huge fan base in the '70s and '80s and maintained a small but devoted following through the years.
"Tab had an amazing run," said Robert Bixby, executive director of the Concord Coalition and a longtime Tab enthusiast. Bixby said messages of condolences have been pouring in. "As a business decision I can understand it, but it's a very sad day ... I do feel it's like losing a friend."
Tab is one of several "underperforming" products Coke has said it is eliminating from its brand lineup by the end of the year as the company seeks to streamline production and focus on bestsellers.
Coke isn't alone in culling its brand lineup. Many food and beverage companies are cutting back on their product offerings during the pandemic to make their operations more efficient and meet growing demand for their most popular items.
The company said its beverage overhaul was already under way before Covid-19, but the pandemic prompted the company to fast-track changes.
[...]
Bixby, who has remained loyal to Tab since the 1970s, said he had been preparing for the end. He said he's been auditioning replacement diet colas all summer — all too sweet.
The saccharine-sweetened, zero-calorie Tab was initially marketed to women. Some people familiar with the flavor have described it in terms including "bitter" and "like bad medicine," with a metallic and lingering aftertaste.
Though Bixby said he preferred it to other diet colas because it was less sweet. "It didn't compete with things, so you could enjoy it with a meal."
Tab's growth was more or less cannibalized when Diet Coke came on the scene in 1982. But Coke kept the brand alive for years for its devotees.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Two months late with this news. Was wondering why I could no longer find it on store shelves. It was hard to find, but I did have my sources.
The soda was bitter, sharp, and dry. An unforgettable taste.
I feel like I’m saying goodbye to an old friend.
"...It was hard to find, but I did have my sources..."
Coke Zero has a somewhat similar taste to Tab.
This is a non-problem, but I do miss some other branded consumer products that have been discontinued.
My brother was quite distraught when Capt. Kangaroo went Dark.
I haven’t seen it in stores so I though that it had already been discontinued!
oh no- chevy chase will be sad
I haven’t thought about TAB Soda since the first Nixon Administration. I think that soda even predates the scare on
Cyclamates.
Coke Zero is gone. It’s now Coke Zero Sugar which is a different flavor and neither are Tab. Tab brings good memories and I wish I could’ve gotten more before it vanished from shelves.
Tab is going away? I thought it had been discontinued decades ago. Can’t remember the last time I saw one.
I had a girlfriend in the late Seventies who was totally addicted to Tab. It was actually a little scary. She would have withdrawals and headaches if she didn’t drink it regularly. One of my boyfriend assignments was to make sure she always had an extra case for backup so she didn’t get anxiety.
there used to be a wonderful black tea that you could buy in Canada, at least western Canada....Nabob tea...Kraft bought out that company and stopped production of it.....so good....miss it still....
My mom used to drink it in the 70s.
Absolutely the worst soft drink I ever had. Never understood how it made it to the market.
So did my dad. Tab and Fresca were his two soda vices. The Fresca was my go-to back then; Tab always tasted too artificial to me. I got my wife hooked on Fresca, and now there’s at least one 2 liter or a six pack in the fridge at all times. She actually shows withdrawal symptoms if the local Kroger runs dry.
My mom too. She was discontinued in 2016...
This is very sad news.
Anyplace we could stock up online?
Tab sucked with that bitter saccharine taste.
I grew up in a diabetic family and have been drinking diet soda most of my life. Never could drink Tab though - saccharine leaves a nasty metallic aftertaste with me. I’m fine with Nutrasweet and Splenda, can’t use saccharine or stevia (which also leaves a metallic aftertaste for me).
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