portrait (74)

For its permanent return, Diet Coke Cherry’s packaging has been brought in line with the wider Diet Coke brand

Diet Coke Cherry is to return permanently in January 2026, after relaunching as a limited-edition earlier this year. 

After launching in October Diet Coke Cherry delivered £250k in value sales in its first three weeks on sale, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) said, citing NIQ data. 

The permanent cherry variant is to roll into stores from early January in 330ml cans, 500ml PET bottles and multipacks. An rsp was not made immediately available, but 24x330ml packs of Diet Coke Cherry are currently on sale for £12 in Tesco stores. 

The launch would be supported by paid social activity, in-store sampling, digital and OOH advertising aimed at driving trial and repeat purchases, CCEP said. 

“The return of our limited-edition Diet Cherry Coke earlier this year was met with incredible demand, so we’re making it a permanent variant designed to deliver long-term value for retailers,” said Rob Yeomans, VP of commercial development at CCEP GB. “With cherry flavours contributing over half of cola segment growth, this launch is set to be a standout performer in 2026.”

Diet Coke continued to enjoy “exceptional loyalty”, Yeomans said, with 32% of its drinkers stating they would drop out of the cola category altogether if it wasn’t available [Numerator by Wordpanel 1 October 2023]

“That tells you everything you need to know about the strength of the brand,” he added.