Sticky Supply Chain Limits Coca-Cola's Cane Sugar Rollout
Company Doesn't Have Enough Production Capacity or Vital Ingredient
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President Donald Trump pushed Coca-Cola Co. to make Coke using U.S. cane sugar. The problem is, the soda maker can’t get its hands on enough sugar or production capacity to roll it out widely.
In an interview with Bloomberg News on Oct. 21, Chief Financial Officer John Murphy said the beverage maker is beginning to roll out Coke made with American cane sugar, but that it is limited by the U.S. supply of cane sugar andĚýits ability to ramp up production in glass bottles.
“It’s going to be a measured rollout,” Murphy said. “There is only a certain amount of cane sugar available in the United States.”
Murphy’s comments underscore the challenges U.S. companies face when they try to bend the realities of business operations to Trump’s whims. In addition to contending with tariffs, whipsawing trade policy and the government shutdown’s looming impact onĚýfood aid payments, food companies are also underĚýpressure to switch to more natural ingredients.
"I have been speaking to about using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so. I’d like to thank all of those in authority at Coca-Cola. This will be a very good move by them — You’ll see. It’s just better!" –President Donald J. Trump — The White House (@WhiteHouse)
Trump announced in a Truth SocialĚýpostĚýearlier this year that Coca-Cola planned to unveil a new Coke product made with U.S. cane sugar. The company later followed up saying it would make a new drink with U.S. cane sugar this fall.
Coca-Cola relies on high fructose corn syrup, which is cheaper than cane sugar, to sweeten its signature product in the U.S. However, a pricier version of the soft drink that uses cane sugar imported from Mexico had been building a following.
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U.S. cane sugar production accounts for roughly 30% of the nation’s sugar supply, according to the US Department of Agriculture. The remainder comes from sugar beets, as well as imports from Mexico and other countries.
Murphy said in addition to sugar supply, ramping upĚýproduction capacity in glass bottles is a limiting factor in the new soda rollout. “If you look at the success of Mexican Coke in the United States, it’s a combination of the product and the package and we’re very keen to offer that same combination using American cane sugar,” Murphy said.
The ability to produce the new U.S. drink in glass bottles needs to expand in order to more widely distribute the new soda, Murphy said, since it differs from the process used with cans. For now, the company is planning a “phased rollout” that will be starting in a few markets in a number of stores before it plans to scale going into 2026.
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