Coca-Cola Clear

Coca-Cola Clear is a colorless soft-drink variant created by The Coca-Cola Company and launched in Japan in June 2018. It belongs to the wider family of Coca-Cola extensions designed to offer consumers a distinct sensory or visual alternative to the flagship cola. The product removed the caramel ingredient normally associated with Coca-Cola’s dark appearance, producing a transparent beverage rather than the familiar brown-colored drink. Its flavor profile used lemon notes to compensate for the change in formulation and to emphasize a lighter, more refreshing character. The product was developed within Coca-Cola’s Asia Pacific operations and was positioned primarily for the Japanese market. Its transparent appearance was the central point of differentiation: instead of relying on the traditional visual signals of cola, Coca-Cola Clear presented itself as a novel, visually unusual soft drink while retaining an association with Coca-Cola’s established brand. The product therefore combined brand familiarity with an experimental format. The original Coca-Cola Clear formulation used sucralose and acesulfame potassium as sweeteners. In June 2019, Coca-Cola introduced Coca-Cola Clear Lime, a lime-flavored variation. Unlike the original version, the lime variant used high-fructose corn syrup as its sweetener. The flavor and sweetener differences made Clear Lime a related but distinct product formulation rather than simply a packaging change. Coca-Cola Clear was officially available in Japan. Reference material also records availability in Taiwan and China through specialty import outlets, indicating that distribution beyond Japan was limited and did not necessarily represent broad official market launches. The available reference material does not establish a continuing global rollout, current production status, sales figures, or a formal discontinuation date. Coca-Cola Clear is therefore best understood as a Japan-centered product innovation whose significance lies in its transparent appearance, lemon-oriented flavor profile, and limited regional availability.

Coca-Cola Clear was developed by Coca-Cola’s Asia Pacific operations as an experimental extension of the Coca-Cola soft-drink line. Its defining innovation was not a new container or a minor flavor adjustment, but the removal of the caramel ingredient normally responsible for the beverage’s familiar dark color. This resulted in a transparent drink that visually differed from conventional cola while remaining connected to the Coca-Cola brand. The product launched locally in Japan in June 2018. Its formulation used lemon flavoring to compensate for the absence of caramel and to create a more refreshing sensory profile. The product’s transparent appearance provided its main consumer-facing distinction and made it an example of a limited regional innovation tailored to a market known for novelty beverage launches. Available reference material describes it as officially available in Japan, with additional access in Taiwan and China through specialty import outlets. On June 10, 2019, Coca-Cola released Coca-Cola Clear Lime, a lime-flavored variation. This version expanded the citrus direction of the original product and used a different sweetener system: high-fructose corn syrup rather than the combination of sucralose and acesulfame potassium used in regular Coca-Cola Clear. The change indicates that the Clear name covered related formulations rather than one unchanging recipe. The available sources do not provide evidence of a broad international rollout, detailed sales performance, a current official website, or a confirmed discontinuation date. They also do not document major controversies, litigation, executive changes, or corporate transactions specifically involving Coca-Cola Clear. Its documented history is consequently centered on product development, the Japanese launch, the subsequent lime variation, and limited availability through official or specialty distribution channels in parts of East Asia.

• 2019

  Coca-Cola Clear Lime released

  [1]Coca-Cola Clearen.wikipedia.org

  Coca-Cola Clear Lime was released on June 10, 2019, adding lime flavor and using high-fructose corn syrup instead of the original Clear formulation’s sucralose and acesulfame potassium sweetener combination.

• 2018

  Local launch in Japan

  [1]Coca-Cola Clearen.wikipedia.org

  Coca-Cola Clear was launched in Japan in June 2018 as a transparent, lemon-flavored Coca-Cola variant made without the caramel ingredient associated with the standard drink’s dark color.

A visually unconventional, lighter-tasting Coca-Cola variant differentiated by its transparent appearance and citrus flavoring.

• Carbonated soft drink · 2018

  Coca-Cola Clear

  The original Coca-Cola Clear product is a transparent cola beverage launched in Japan in June 2018. It does not contain the caramel ingredient normally associated with Coca-Cola’s dark color. Lemon flavoring was used to provide a lighter, more refreshing taste direction. The formulation used sucralose and acesulfame potassium as sweeteners. Its principal point of difference was the combination of Coca-Cola branding and a completely colorless appearance.

• Flavored carbonated soft drink · 2019

  Coca-Cola Clear Lime

  Coca-Cola Clear Lime is a lime-flavored variation released on June 10, 2019. It extended the transparent Coca-Cola concept with a sharper citrus profile. The product used high-fructose corn syrup rather than the sucralose and acesulfame potassium combination identified for the original Coca-Cola Clear formulation. Available reference material does not establish the full extent of its distribution or its current market status.

• 2019

  Introduce the Clear Lime variationGeneration change

  Background

  Coca-Cola extended the transparent beverage concept with a new citrus flavor after the original lemon-oriented product.

  Action taken

  Coca-Cola Clear Lime was released on June 10, 2019, with lime flavoring and a different sweetener system based on high-fructose corn syrup.

  Aftermath

  The release broadened the Clear product family, but available material does not document its sales results, geographic expansion, or continuing availability.

  Source

• 2018

  Launch a transparent Coca-Cola variant in JapanProduct launch

  Background

  Coca-Cola’s Asia Pacific operations developed a cola variant that would visually depart from the standard dark-colored product while retaining the Coca-Cola brand association.

  Action taken

  The company removed the caramel ingredient, used lemon flavoring, and launched Coca-Cola Clear locally in Japan in June 2018.

  Aftermath

  The product remained principally associated with Japan, with reference material also noting access in Taiwan and China through specialty import outlets. No broader rollout or performance data is documented in the available sources.

  Source

• 2019

  Coca-Cola Clear Lime introduced[1]Coca-Cola Clearen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch · Product generation

  A lime-flavored version called Coca-Cola Clear Lime was released on June 10, 2019. It differed from the original Clear formulation by using high-fructose corn syrup rather than sucralose and acesulfame potassium.

• 2018

  Coca-Cola Clear launches in Japan[1]Coca-Cola Clearen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  The Coca-Cola Company introduced Coca-Cola Clear in Japan as a transparent cola variant without the caramel ingredient associated with regular Coca-Cola’s dark color. The drink used lemon flavoring to create a lighter taste profile.

1. 1Coca-Cola Clearen.wikipedia.org