Tab fanatics are stocking up on the diet cola as it disappears from shelves
Stock up on cans while you still can.
Yes, they still make Tab. The Coca-Cola soda first appeared in 1963, but the pink aluminum cans became a symbol of the diet crazes of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Like aerobics, leg warmers and leotards, Tab was a must accessory for the hip fitness-conscious, like Millennials with their La Croix. The distinctive, divisive taste of Tab, which came from a cocktail of artificial sweeteners including saccharine, set it apart from Diet Coke.
In the decades since, Tab has faded in popularity to cult status, as loyalists search the bottom shelves in grocery aisles for scant cases of their calorie-free nectar. According to Food & Wine, Coca-Cola "only" sells about 1.5 million cases of Tab per year. (It sounds like a lot, but to put that in perspective, the standard Coca-Cola soft drink moved approximately 29.2 billion cases last year.) That Tab figure could be slimming down.
The New York Times reports that the North Carolina-based Coca-Cola Bottling Company Consolidated, the biggest independent bottler and distributor of Coca-Cola products in America, has discontinued offering Tab in its 14-state territory, which includes Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia and D.C.
“After careful review, we recently removed Tab 12-pack cans from the portfolio of beverages we offer,” the company declared in a statement.
In response, Tab drinkers are stockpiling — and starting petitions. Their beloved chemical cola could be going the way of Veep and Simba.
No wonder Tab is going for about $4 a can on Amazon.
6 Comments
I rejoiced about 10-15 years ago when I saw a reformulated Tab at Kroger. It tasted terrible, nothing like the original.