What name did Coca-Cola give its 1985 reformulated soft drink?

Coca-Cola gave its 1985 reformulated soft drink the name New Coke.

The company introduced New Coke on April 23, 1985, after taste tests suggested that consumers preferred its sweeter flavor to the existing formula. Coca-Cola simultaneously discontinued the original formula in the United States, turning a product change into a major branding decision.

The reaction was intensely negative among many loyal drinkers. Consumers organized protests, wrote complaints, and stockpiled the original beverage. Coca-Cola restored the original formula under the name Coca-Cola Classic on July 11, 1985, less than three months after New Coke’s launch.

New Coke is often remembered as a simple taste-test failure, but the episode also showed that Coca-Cola represented memory and identity as much as flavor. New Coke continued in limited availability for a time, while Coca-Cola Classic became the main product associated with the original brand.