The sweet flavor of Coca-Cola has been tantalizing American tongues for decades. However, recently,
consumers have been cracking open an alternative version of the soft drink: the Mexican Coke.
Beneath the hype, what's really going on with Mexican Coke? Here is everything bubbling
inside that glass bottle.
The difference between a Mexican Coke and its traditional counterpart is visually apparent
on the bottle, but it's not just the packaging that distinguishes the two. While they are
both made with the classic Coca-Cola formula, there's a vital difference in the ingredients
list.
The core recipe of carbonated water, a sweetener, caramel color, caffeine, and the secret natural
flavor ingredients is the same in both cases. The sweetener is where the recipes diverge.
Traditional Coke is made with high fructose corn syrup. In Mexico, this is swapped out
for cane sugar. There also may be a slight difference in the formula, as the Coke secret
ingredients are slightly different in other countries, but this difference is rarely disclosed
by the company, according to Serious Eats.
Many consumers claim that the Mexican version made with real cane sugar is tastier. This
is possibly due to a slightly less intense sweetness. According to Live Science, some
studies claim high fructose corn syrup is up to 1.5 times sweeter than plain old sugar.
Others, according to The New York Times, believe soda sweetened with real cane sugar is more
natural, pure, less harsh, and possibly healthier. Except, Coca-Cola wouldn't agree with those
takes. A representative from Coca-Cola told Consumerist,
"There is no perceptible taste difference ... Whether sweetened with high fructose corn
syrup or sugar, a Coke is a Coke and both are 'the real thing.'"
One reason many Americans crave the cane sugar of Mexican Coke is that they believe it's
healthier than the high fructose corn syrup used to sweeten American Coca-Cola.
Chemically, the two sweeteners both contain a combination of glucose and fructose and
are broken down by your body in almost the same exact way. Culturally, high fructose
corn syrup has been widely criticized and shunned in the US. This has led many consumers
to purchase foods and drinks made without it under the assumption that anything that
doesn't have it on the ingredient list is more natural. According to Live Science, the
syrup is labeled as chemical, unhealthy, and toxic in the minds of many consumers, which
is even leading them to rebrand it as corn sugar.
The widespread bias against corn syrup is not based in fact. Leading health writer and
columnist at the New York Times, Jane Brody, asserts that there is no scientific reason
high fructose corn syrup is more unhealthy than any other sweetener, with similar calories
per gram and chemical composition across the board. Michael Jacobson, of the Center for
Science in the Public Interest, told the New York Times,
"It's an urban myth that high-fructose corn syrup has a special toxicity."
Jacobson believes if sugar was used instead of corn syrup in all of our food, there would
be no difference in national health.
So while Mexican Coke is not actually healthier than Coke, the consumer's perception against
corn syrup will continue to inform their soda choices.
Another reason people reach for Mexican Coke is the appealing glass bottle, which is nostalgic
in its aesthetic. Drinking ice-cold soda out of the classic bottle creates an undeniable
experience that elevates the taste and feel of the drink.
The classic bottle shape as we know it, was not the original design. According to The
Coca-Cola Company, the contoured bottle design was created in 1915 after typical bottle shapes
were mimicked by other soft drink producers. Hoping to create a long-lasting national brand
identity that consumers would connect with for years to come, the company asked for,
"[A bottle design that would be] so distinct that you would recognize it by feel in the
dark or lying broken on the ground."
The winning design copied the elongated shape and ribbed texture of a cocoa bean. The bottle
was trademarked in 1961 — an unusual move for product packaging, but one that made sense
for the distinct bottle.
The bottle is now called the "contour bottle" after a 1925 French magazine article that
used the phrase. The glass bottle is not used for classic American Coke as often, as cans
and plastic bottles have become the norm. According to Refinery29, a very similar shape
is still used by Mexican bottling plants, and so it lives on in every case of Mexican
Coke. Undoubtedly, the flair of the glass contour bottle adds to the appeal of Mexican
Coke for many American consumers.
According to Smithsonian Magazine, one reason for the discrepancy in ingredients is a simmering
trade war between the United States and Mexico. The Mexican soda industry has always preferred
sugar in its beverages because it aids the country's sugar industry.
In 1997, Mexico passed a tariff on high-fructose corn syrup to prop up the sugar industry because
of the competition posed by corn syrup. The United States, which exports large amounts
of corn syrup, did not take kindly to the tariff — they brought the case to the World
Trade Organization, WTO, which ruled in favor of the U.S.
Five years later, Mexico tried again to make corn syrup prohibitively expensive. Again,
the United States went to the WTO, and again, the WTO ruled in favor of the United States.
Even after these legal setbacks, Mexico appears to be doing something right to keep high fructose
corn syrup out of their soda industry, because Mexican Coke which is exported to the United
States, continues to be made with cane sugar.
"Hey Bruce, you don't mind if I just take this last Coke do ya? Thanks, bye!"
Just as Coca-Cola has had a huge impact on American life, it has also greatly affected
Mexican culture and politics. The delicious Mexican Coke so many Americans enjoy has had
far-reaching effects on the country.
The Coca-Cola company marketed very strongly in the country starting in the 1970s by putting
out national advertisements, sponsoring large sporting events like the Mexico City Olympics,
and incentivizing small business owners to exclusively sell Coke. The popularity of the
soda skyrocketed and became cemented as a Mexican staple. Vicente Fox, formerly of Coca-Cola
Mexico, was elected the president of the country in 2000. According to Business Insider, protecting
big business, especially Coca-Cola, informed many of his actions during his term.
The New York Times reported on the way Coca-Cola bottling plants affect the communities they
are located in, from using a ton of water that would otherwise be available to citizens
to generating a unique following that uses Coke in medicine and religious practice. The
Guardian explores the high soda consumption rates in Mexico and Coke's role in the country's
obesity and diabetes struggles.
Of course, a huge corporation that infiltrates a national identity will have side effects.
These effects are important to consider when reaching for a Mexican Coke.
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