Distribution
By late 2003, the company had marketed Vanilla Coke in over 30 countries around the globe. The "Vanilla Coke" name was originally used in the United States and Canada as well as many other countries around the world such as Germany and Asian territories, whereas "Coca-Cola Vanilla" was the brand used in some places such as the Netherlands, France (translated to "Coca-Cola Vanille") and Mexico (translated to "Coca-Cola Vainilla").[19]
Customer and commercial reception was mixed: in markets such as Hong Kong and Thailand, Vanilla Coke had a positive impact. However, the product struggled in North America and some other regions, including India.[20] North American sales peaked in its inaugural year in 2002. It is estimated that the product was purchased by about 29% of all United States households that year.[21] Doubt was cast over the future of Vanilla Coke and its diet version when the company announced the 2004 sales figures: 35 million unit cases in North America compared to 90 million in 2002; Vanilla Diet Coke dropped from 23 million unit cases in its inaugural year (2003) to 13 million in 2004.[22] Because of declining sales, the Coca-Cola Company announced in November 2005 that Vanilla Coke would be discontinued in North America and Great Britain by the end of the year.[22][23] Vanilla Coke production had already ended in Sweden earlier in 2005.[24][25] Coca-Cola introduced Black Cherry Vanilla Coke and Diet Black Cherry Vanilla Coke for the North American market in January 2006 as a replacement.[22][26]
The beverage continued to be produced and sold in many other markets where it performed better, such as Australia, France, Russia, Malaysia, and Germany, but was also grey imported to some places. The drink started being officially introduced into new markets in China and other European and Asian countries in 2007, including being re-introduced into New Zealand on February 19, 2007.[27] Soon afterwards, Coca-Cola announced that the drink, now known as Coca-Cola Vanilla, would officially be brought back to the United States after a year and a half hiatus.[28] It relaunched on May 25, 2007 at the World of Coca-Cola Museum in Atlanta, Georgia, in a partnership with Edy's Ice Cream to co-advertise with Coke on the launch, and featured a 10-ton Vanilla Coke float, which was certified by the Guinness World Records as the largest ice cream float in the world.[29] A Coca-Cola Vanilla Zero, based on Coca-Cola Zero, was also introduced. The advertising campaign for the revival used an instrumental cover of "Welcome Back".
Vanilla Coke (now called Coca-Cola Vanilla) was officially re-introduced to Sweden in February 2013.[30][31] Soon after, the drink also returned to stores in Great Britain in April 2013 after a seven year absence.[32] Originally released limited, it became a permanent Coca-Cola product in the country later on. The same year the drink started appearing in Romania, Belgium, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Denmark. Coca-Cola Vanilla was introduced in Lithuania and Poland in 2015. During the 2016 Summer Olympics the vanilla and cherry version was presented to selected markets in Brazil.[33] The drink returned in bottled and canned form in Canada in 2016, more than a decade after it was withdrawn.[34]
In July 2018, Coca-Cola Vanilla re-appeared in Russia as limited edition in Magnit supermarkets,[35] but due to high sales, it became available in all retail chains as a permanent product.[36] In the same year, Coca-Cola confirmed the product's discontinuation in Britain, in favour of the Vanilla Zero Sugar variant.
