TaB is Coca-Cola’s first diet cola, introduced in 1963. It became a cultural icon thanks to its bold pink branding, unique flavor, and fiercely loyal fanbase. For decades, TaB was the go-to drink for people who wanted a zero-calorie cola long before Diet Coke existed.
TaB was launched by the Coca-Cola Company in 1963 as its very first diet cola, nearly two decades before Diet Coke arrived in 1982.
TaB was made by The Coca-Cola Company. It was one of Coca-Cola’s longest-running brands, on shelves for 57 years before being retired.
Coca-Cola announced on October 16, 2020 that it would discontinue TaB, ending production by the end of that year, after 57 years on shelves.
Coca-Cola discontinued TaB in 2020 as part of a “global portfolio refresh” focused on a smaller number of bigger brands. The company cited production efficiency and shifting consumer trends.
However, TaB fans know the drink still had a passionate, active community, and many believe the decision was premature.
Nothing — it isn’t an acronym. The name came from a computer-assisted naming process Coca-Cola ran in the early 1960s, sifting through thousands of short, punchy options. “TaB” was chosen for its nod to keeping tabs on your weight. (And no, despite the popular myth, it does not stand for “Totally Artificial Beverage.”) More on the naming story →
It was a deliberate design choice from day one. The capital-lowercase-capital “TaB” made the three-letter name visually distinctive on a crowded shelf, and it stayed exactly that way across the brand’s entire 57-year run.
Fans describe TaB’s flavor as:
It’s a signature taste that fans insist no other soda has ever matched.
TaB’s character came from its diet-sweetener base, originally saccharin, and in later years a saccharin–aspartame blend, which gave it a profile distinct from every cola that came after. Combined with its lower sweetness, that’s why TaB drinkers describe it as one of a kind.
No. TaB and Diet Coke are completely different formulas. TaB came first, in 1963, and Diet Coke was introduced in 1982 as a separate product. Many TaB fans never switched, because the taste is so distinct.
Yes, regular TaB contained caffeine. A caffeine-free TaB was also offered at various points for fans who wanted the flavor without the caffeine.
Yes. TaB was a diet cola, essentially zero-calorie and zero-sugar, which is exactly what made it revolutionary back in 1963, when almost every soft drink was full-sugar.
About one calorie per serving — so close to zero that Coca-Cola’s classic ads literally billed it as “one calorie.” In 1963, when nearly every soft drink was loaded with sugar, that was genuinely revolutionary.
It changed as the science did:
That evolving diet-sweetener base is a big part of why TaB tasted like nothing else. See the full formula timeline →
Yes — for a period. Early-1970s lab studies linked very high doses of saccharin and cyclamate to bladder cancer in rats, and from the mid-1970s U.S. law required a warning label on saccharin-sweetened products. That requirement was later repealed once further research found no meaningful risk to humans: the FDA cleared saccharin in 2000, and the EPA removed it from its hazardous-substances list in 2010. Read the whole saccharin saga →
No. Both are Coca-Cola diet sodas, but Fresca is a grapefruit-citrus drink that’s still made today, while TaB was a diet cola that was discontinued in 2020. They’re easy to mix up because they share an era and a parent company, but they never tasted alike.
It did. Over the years the TaB family grew to include:
None are in production today. More on the TaB lineup →
Plenty — both in productions made during its heyday and in period pieces set during it:
Occasionally, but only in fountain form, and only at a few Coca-Cola–owned locations. TaB has sometimes been poured on the fountain at:
Availability comes and goes, we’ve heard of it being out of stock, so always call ahead before making a trip. And please don’t count on these three spots to keep TaB alive: the real goal is getting it back everywhere. Call Coca-Cola at 1-800-GET-COKE and ask them to bring TaB back for good.
No. Packaged TaB, cans and bottles, hasn’t been produced since the end of 2020, so you won’t find it on grocery shelves. Any sealed cans still circulating are old stock, well past their freshness date, and are now mostly collected rather than consumed.
Most remaining cans are years past their date, so the flavor and carbonation have usually faded. For that reason, many longtime fans now collect their last cans rather than drink them, they’re keepsakes of the real thing.
Since production ended, sealed TaB has become a sought-after collector’s item, and prices vary widely depending on condition and demand. Its growing collectible status is one more sign of just how beloved the brand remains.
It’s the closest thing to it you can verifiably get. Coca-Cola occasionally pours TaB from the fountain at the Beverage Lab inside the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta, along with a few other company-owned spots — making it the most reliable way to actually taste TaB today.
Always call ahead — fountain availability isn’t guaranteed.
Not new, no. Because Coca-Cola stopped making it, no retailer sells TaB. The only place you’ll find it is the resale market (eBay and the like), where it’s old stock at collector prices — best kept as a keepsake rather than a drink.
No. TaB did sell in a number of international markets during its run, but Coca-Cola ended production everywhere by the close of 2020. There’s no country or region currently manufacturing new TaB.
The SaveTaBSoda Committee believes it can, if Coca-Cola sees the demand clearly enough. We collect fan stories, organize outreach, and demonstrate that TaB still has a strong, motivated customer base. TaB has the nostalgia, brand recognition, and loyal following to justify a comeback.
Absolutely. Brands return all the time, especially when fan demand is strong and well-organized. The SaveTaBSoda Committee is committed to showing Coca-Cola that TaB deserves another chance.
Yes. Coca-Cola has revived retired products in response to fan demand, Surge, for example, returned after a passionate online campaign. That precedent is exactly why an organized, visible TaB movement matters.
There’s been no announced relaunch — but TaB keeps resurfacing in Coca-Cola’s own orbit, from cameo appearances in marketing to the company reviving other retired drinks. Fans read these as signs the demand hasn’t gone unnoticed. We track every flicker of news on the blog →
Part nostalgia, part genuine devotion. For millions of fans TaB was a daily ritual for decades, with a taste no other diet cola ever replicated. That mix of memory and a flavor you literally can’t buy anymore is why the community is still this organized and loud years after the last can. Join them →
A clear, undeniable signal of demand. That means petitions, phone calls to Coca-Cola, fan stories, social engagement, and steady public pressure, all the things the SaveTaBSoda Committee organizes. The louder and more united TaB fans are, the stronger the case becomes.
The SaveTaBSoda Committee is a grassroots, all-volunteer group of TaB fans who have spent years documenting TaB’s history, collecting fan testimonials, engaging with bottlers and distributors, raising awareness online, and advocating directly to Coca-Cola.
Our mission is simple: bring TaB back, and preserve its legacy.
Because TaB fans didn’t disappear, Coca-Cola simply stopped making the drink. We exist to show Coca-Cola that demand still exists, unite TaB fans around the world, keep TaB’s history alive, and advocate for a limited release, seasonal run, or full return. TaB isn’t just a soda, it’s a community.
You can help by:
Every voice matters. See all the ways to help →
Only Coca-Cola sells official TaB merchandise, the kind that carries the genuine trademark. It comes and goes, so it’s worth checking their online store (cokestore.com) to see if anything TaB is currently available.
We do offer our own official SaveTaBSoda merchandise, designed to support the campaign. It’s not the official TaB trademark, but we think it’ll help you stand out in a crowd and find fellow fans in the wild. Best of all, we use the proceeds from every sale to fund our next campaign event. Visit the SaveTaBSoda shop.
Follow the SaveTaBSoda Committee on social media, read the blog, and keep an eye on savetabsoda.com for progress, media coverage, and new ways to get involved.
The single most powerful thing you can do is add your name. Sign the petition and tell Coca-Cola its first diet cola belongs back on shelves.
A signature is step one. TaB will only come back if the crowd keeps showing up — follow the movement for campaign news, fun TaB photos, and every win along the way.