If it were up to yours truly, everything would have a little extra spice. Nothing too crazy, just enough to wake up your taste buds like one of those sunlight alarm clocks. The kind of heat that feels like a warm bath instead of an all-out inferno — you get it. For the most part, anything can benefit from a tiny bit of heat, whether you drizzle sriracha onto your ice cream or sprinkle cayenne Tajin onto your fruit. But what about soda? If Coca-Cola’s recent move to trademark the word “spricy” is any indicator, we might find out soon enough.
The latest hot (pun intended) goss to hit the net is that on July 9, Coca-Cola filed a trademark for the word with “bona fide intention” to use the phrase on soft drinks. Although the trademark is relatively broad and could cover any number of the over 200 brands in Coca-Cola’s cache, it’s largely speculated that it’ll be reserved for Sprite.
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Not to further fuel that speculation, but it kind of tracks that Coca-Cola would make a spicy Sprite after the knockout success of Sprite Chill, a first-of-its-kind soda that actually features a unique cooling sensation as you drink it, without tasting minty. The once limited-edition cherry lime flavor was such a hit, in fact, that the brand ended up making it a permanent part of its catalog early last year. By those stats, a Sprite flavor that warms as you drink it might not be such a bad idea after all.
It’s also worth noting the running joke that Sprite from McDonald’s is considered “spicy,” and in April of 2022, Sprite got in on the fun by tweeting a picture of a can labeled Spicy Sprite with the iconic McDonald’s logo on it. Needless to say, fans were amused and also intrigued at the idea of an actual Spicy Sprite retail launch. While that remains to be seen, it does appear that Coca-Cola is hoping to deliver some heat.
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What seems less likely (although nothing is off the table yet) is that the move is a way for Coca-Cola to revive the defunct Coca-Cola Spiced flavor from 2024. The short-lived soda featured a blend of raspberry and warm spiced flavors, but wasn’t exactly spicy. After just seven months on the market, the flavor was pulled and shelved indefinitely. Still, Coca-Cola could decide to relaunch the flavor in a whole new way, or shock us all completely and do something even more explosive. “Spricy” Dasani, anyone? We’ll definitely be keeping our eyes peeled as this story develops.
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