Good news for the nostalgic nineties crowd, Coca cola is reintroducing Sarge into the market. After 12 years off the shelves, Coca cola has reintroduced one of its popular nineties soft drinks Sarge after widespread appeal from Sarge fans.
The drink was launched in 1996 as a response to Pepsi's Mountain Dew. However, the drink never stood the test of time as production was permanently halted barely six years since its inception. The drink was very popular and amassed a great following back in the day. So popular was the drink that fans from across the country formed various groups to advocate for its return. The biggest group is "The Surge Movement," which has about 128,000 Facebook followers. So focused were the fans that they pooled together their resources and rented a billboard next to the Coca cola headquarters with the message "Dear Coke, we couldn't buy SURGE, so we bought this billboard instead."
That finally convinced Coke to bring back the popular drink. The beverage giant will be reintroducing the brand not through the retail shelves but through Amazon. The drink will be sold in 12 packs of 16 ounce cans, each featuring the brand's original retro design. The decision was made because of Coca cola's policy of listening to its fans. "We appreciate the enthusiasm we've seen from tens of thousands of fans nationwide, and we're bringing Surge back, in part, because of them," said wendy Clark, President , Sparkling and Strategic Marketing, Coca cola North America.
Coca cola will be retailing the drink only if the demand will grow to sustainable portions. "This is the ultimate test. We're leaving it in the hand of SURGE fans. Can 128,000 fans build and sustain a brand? We'll see," stated Racquel Mason, Associate Vice President of Sparkling flavors.
The relaunch of the drink exceeded expectations as it quickly went out of stock after being announced on Amazon.
