Coca-Cola to get more expensive in US? Here's how much more it costs to use real cane sugar
President Donald Trump said Coca-Cola agreed to use real cane sugar instead of corn syrup (HFCS) in their US beverages.
President Donald Trump announced that Coca-Cola has agreed to use real cane sugar in their drinks in the US, instead of the corn syrup that it had earlier put in the beverages.
“I have been speaking to Coca-Cola about using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so. I’d like to thank all of those in authority at Coca-Cola. This will be a very good move by them — You’ll see. It’s just better!,” Trump wrote on his social media platform," he posted on Truth Social.
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While the negative health impacts of consuming corn syrup over long periods have been well documented, the switch to real cane sugar may lead to Coca-Cola costing more! Here's a look at how much extra Coke has to pay per bottle if it switches to real cane sugar from corn syrup.
Corn syrup vs real cane sugar cost difference
High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) typically costs around $0.20 to $0.30 per pound, as per Medium. In contrast, production costs for cane sugar are $0.40 to $0.50 per pound. This makes cane sugar around 33 to 150 per cent more expensive per pound.
Investopedia calculated that a shift from HFCS to other sweeteners could lead to a 10-15 per cent hike in the cost of certain products, especially beverages.
Notably, it is only in the US that HFCS is used, while elsewhere, cane sugar is used in Coke. Whiile the exact cost of producing a bottle of coke is not known, estimates put it at a couple of cents a bottle, since the cost of liquid ingredients -- water, corn syrup, is very low, and a major chunk of the expense goes into packaging, marketing, and distribution, which impacts the final price that customers pay to enjoy a bottle of coke.
