On Monday, Coca-Cola brought back Surge, exclusively on Amazon.
The Facebook group Surge Movement, which has lobbied for the drink's return since 2011, made the comeback announcement.
Today’s launch is the first time that Coke has brought back a discontinued product, and it’s the first time Coke has distributed a product solely through an e-commerce channel. Surge is only being promoted with the help of social media campaigns, which is fitting since fans have been using Facebook to lobby Coke to return the product for some time.
“The SURGE Movement," has more than 128,000 fans on Facebook and the effort raised nearly $4,000 in 2013 to buy a billboard a half-mile from Coke’s Atlanta headquarters. The copy read: "Dear Coke, we couldn’t buy SURGE, so we bought this billboard instead" and directed people to visit the movement’s Facebook page.
In a blog post, Coke explained that by teaming up with the online retailer it can closely monitor sales and inventory without taxing its distribution network.
"If expectations are met, this may be only the first of a variety of efforts we explore to launch niche products through e-commerce relationships," said Wendy Clark, president of sparkling and strategic marketing at Coca-Cola North America. "This will be a great learning experience for us and a refreshing opportunity for fans."
The new Surge comes in a 12-pack of 16 oz. cans for $14.00. Having not tried it (yet), it’s impossible to know if the recipe has been altered. However, the grams of sugar contained within seems promising.
The cans still feature the brand's original retro design that looks like a red sun burst. It marks the first re-introduction of a discontinued Coca-Cola brand due to popular demand -- and on an e-commerce site, says Wendy Clark, president of Sparkling & Strategic Marketing at Coke.
Amazon now sells Coca-Cola brands such as Diet Coke, Sprite, vitaminwater, Dasani DROPS, smartwater and more. See full selection here
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