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Coca-Cola Fiber Plus in the Chinese market. Coca-Cola Plus, which has added fiber, first debuted in Japan in 2017. According to Coca-Cola, it has exceeded launch projections. In February 2019, the sleek white bottle started to be spotted in convenience stores in Shanghai, China.

Will Coca-Cola Fiber Plus be as successful in China as it was in Japan?

Daxue consulting employees decided to conduct mini sensory research in the form of blind taste test on Coca-Cola fiber plus to compare to the original. Through this taste test, we see what people’s thoughts were on the product taste and mouthfeel.

The blind taste test results conclude 8 out of 11 prefer the original recipe over fiber plus, and 7 out of 11 correctly differentiated which was fiber + and which was original during the blind taste test.

Some of the comments were, although the fiber version has no sugar, it does taste sweeter than the original. On the downside, it apparently has less carbonation as it was described as “tastes like it has been sitting out”. Although the functional beverage market in China is growing, the question is, whether will fiber plus be recognized as a healthy drink. According to Daxue consulting’s research on the healthy snacks market in China, fiber intake doesn’t seem to be as large of a concern in China compared to western countries. This can be seen by the fact that health foods in China do not promote their fiber amounts on their packaging, even if they have a significant amount.

Coca-Cola’s history in China can be traced to 1979, right after the reform and opening up. Crates of the product were delivered to Beijing, and consumers were excited to try the drink they’ve seen in so many American movies.

Want to conduct sensory research in China? Daxue Consulting can help with that.

Daxue consulting has experience performing food product sensory research in China and has well-tuned sensory research procedure for clients who seek to understand more about Chinese consumers taste preferences. Do not hesitate to reach out to our project managers at dx@daxueconsulting.com to get all answers to your questions.