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Tab, Coca-Cola’s first diet soda, will be off the shelves by the end of the year

ATLANTA (NewsNation Now) —  Tab, Coca-Cola’s first-ever diet soda, is getting canned.

The company announced Friday that Tab diet soda will be off the shelves in the U.S. by Dec. 31 in an effort to focus on more popular beverages. ZICO coconut water and Coca-Cola’s Odwalla product line will also be gone by 2021.


The soda was first released in 1963 and was initially marketed towards women. The saccharine-sweetened, low calorie soft drink became a hit in the United States in 1980s.

Photo courtesy Coca-Cola

While the drink has lessened in popularity it still has maintained a cult following. Since then, Coca-Cola drinks like Diet Coke and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar have grown in popularity.

“We’re forever grateful to Tab for paving the way for the diets and lights category, and to the legion of Tab lovers who have embraced the brand for nearly six decades,” said Kerri Kopp, group director, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola North America. “If not for Tab, we wouldn’t have Diet Coke or Coke Zero Sugar. Tab did its job. In order to continue to innovate and give consumers the choices they want today, we have to make decisions like this one as part of our portfolio rationalization work.