About TaB
| www.flickr.com |
Announcement, June 2007: 2 Liter bottles have been discontinued.
2 Liter bottles of TaB have been reported in Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Connecticut (all are covered by the bottler “Coca Cola of Bottling Company of New England.”
TaB’s got Sass! (1985 advertisement)
Once upon a time, TaB was on sale…
Thanks Jennie!
R.I.P. – TaB discontinued in IcelandHi !
Very,very sad news from Iceland – Vifilfell – maker of TAB, Coca Cola and other products in Iceland will stop production of TAB this spring. The last batch og 2L TAB is currently in stores but one batch of 1/2L TAB is yet to be produced and will probably sell out by this spring. TAB was introduced to the Icelandic market in 1982 and has been widely available through the country ever since.
RIP
Best Regards,
Gos Sverrisson, Iceland
So sorry to hear about this, but thanks for the update Gos 
How wonderful would a 3-Liter bottle of TaB be????
Closeup:
(Pictures are from The White Trash Cookbook)
Some great photos from DebDabTaB…Black Cherry TaB:
Her collection:
For more of Debbie’s great photos, click here.
Thanks Debbie!
TaB Commercial – It’s a “Mindsticker”A very very strange and confusing TaB commercial…
TaB Commercial (1982) – For Beautiful PeopleHere is a link to a slightly different version of the same commercial:
(Click here to view)
(“The vending machines that time forgot,” The Shreveport Times, June 10, 2006 — by Tim Greening)
Excerpt:
“Our soda machine has Tab in it, fer-cryin’-out-loud! Tab! I thought Tab went out when Ronald Reagan was sworn in. I wouldn’t be surprised if it still had Crystal Pepsi in it.�
Click here to read more…
I’m a part time bartender at Bridge Street Cafe , Old Forge Pa. One night we experimented with Tab Energy and we have come up with the following fantastic drinks:
TABU
1/2 oz. Vodka
1/2 oz. Coconut Rum
Splash of Cranberry
Fill with Tab Energy
TABLOID
1 oz. Vodka
1/2 oz. Peach Schnapps
Cherry to Garnish
Fill with Tab Energy
Mad TaBber
1 oz. Citrus Vodka
1/2 oz. Triple Sec
Splash of Sprite
Fill with Tab Energy
TaBtini
1 oz. Vodka
1/2 oz. Chambord
Fill with Tab Energy
ENJOY!
“Sweet Nothing—The Triumph Of Diet Soda” – by Benjamin Siegel(“Sweet Nothing—The Triumph Of Diet Soda,” American Heritage Magazine, June/July 2006 — by Benjamin Siegel)
It came out of a Brooklyn hospital and in very few years changed not only what Americans drink but how they see themselves.
It is probably fair to say that hyman kirsch, 50 years dead, his once powerful beverage company now a shadow of its former fizzy self, could not have imagined the ways in which his No-Cal soda would change the world. Kirsch was gone before Diet Coke hit supermarket shelves everywhere; he never heard “Tab, Tab cola, for beautiful people� or drank a diet soda “just for the taste of it.� But his legacy is a multibillion-dollar-a-year business and has created a nation full of consumers thirsty for the latest liquid nothing.
TaB Energy’s Arrival in Canada is Celebrated with “Fuel To Be Fabulous” Party
(“TaB Energy’s Arrival in Canada is Celebrated with “Fuel To Be Fabulous” Party,” Newswire.ca, June 15, 2006)
This Ain’t Your Mother’s TaB(TM)
TORONTO, June 15 /CNW/ – Young, chic women from across Toronto will
gather Saturday night at the StyleXchange to help celebrate the arrival of TaB
energy(TM) to Canada.
While TaB energy(TM) shares the old TaB(TM) brand name, that is where the
similarities end — it is not a cola — it is a new, deliciously pink, sugar-
free energy drink with only five calories per 269mL can. Available in an eye-
catching, fashionably pink can, TaB energy(TM) was created specifically for
women with a sense of style and purpose.
Click here to read more…
New TaB Fridgpack Design
Originally uploaded by ILoveTaB.
Spotted in Michigan…. See the ILoveTaB.com Image Gallery for more photos.
Thanks Tony!
“Devotees go far to keep tabs on diet pop” – by Ana Fisher(“Devotees go far to keep tabs on diet pop,” The Columbus Dispatch, May 7, 2006 — by Ana Fisher)
Maybe you’re too young to remember Space Food Sticks and Shake-a Pudd’n.
That’s because those food fads, introduced around the summer of 1969, couldn’t attract the necessary long-term market share.
Consumerproduct companies don’t seem to mind. They just roll out the next crazy idea and hope it sticks long enough to make a profit to bankroll the next crazy idea.
Click here to read more…
(“Dwindling supply has TaB fanatics searching everywhere for their cola,” Press of Atlantic City, May 7, 2006 — by Courtney McCann)
Lolly Yocum will travel to the ends of the earth in search of an endangered species: her beloved TaB soda.
The Lansdale, Pa., doll maker has a summer house in Little Egg Harbor Township, but she spends more time traveling the Garden State Parkway trolling for soft drinks than enjoying the summer sun.
“During the summer months, I go on TaB-buying journeys that take me from Manahawkin to Atlantic City looking for my beloved drink,� Yocum said. “No other drink can compare.�
Click here to read more…
Does anyone know how to embed the Quicktime player into this post so people aren’t sent to another page to hear it?
Go Girl Energy Drink vs TaB Energy
VS
Lately I have seen Go Girl, another energy drink in a pink can. I gave it a try, and in my opinion, it is much better tasting that TaB Energy. There is virtually none of that medicinal/energy drink after taste — it tastes like a less sweet Strawberry Crush.
Has anyone else tried it? If so, leave a comment!
Movie – Generation TaB, by Ben WhitmanFrom the official Carbon Pictures/Manwhit website:
GENERATION TAB
The latest from Manwhit Entertainment!
An effervescent mock-umentary, Generation Tab explores Tab Cola’s turbulent history as a diet beverage. After nearly cornering the youth cola market in the mid-1980s, Tab Cola, Inc. fell flat during the 1990s, due to tired and sluggish management decisions made by its founder and CEO, Sydney Tabinthaul.
Now more than a decade later, Tab is making a well-deserved comeback. Eighties-minded “x-treme sports fanaticâ€� Skip Rufiker has recently been enlisted to revamp the company’s image. “I like to live my life like a Tab kind of guy,â€� quips Rufiker, a skateboard in one hand and an ice-cold six pack of “brown goldâ€� in the other. Watch as we explore this fascinating company and its plans for “shaking upâ€� the worldwide cola market.
Written and directed by Ben Whitman in the Spring of 2003, the film stars Nick Crocker as Skip Rufiker and Ben Whitman as the ineffible Sydney Tabinthaul.
Click the arrow icon below to start watching the movie
Coke addresses the issue of TaB vs TaB Energy…I found the following Q&A on the official TaB Energy website. Personally, I think there is a lot of confusion about the two brands but maybe that’s just me….
–
Q: What is Tab Energy?
A: While Tab Energy shares the Tab brand name, it is not a cola. It is a completely new energy drink created especially for women. The deliciously crisp and lightly carbonated pink beverage is sugar-free, with only five calories per 10.5 ounce can.
Q: Will it replace regular Tab?
A: No, the launch of Tab Energy, a completely new energy drink, will have no impact on the availability of Tab the diet cola.
“Tab Energy Kills You Dead/The famously toxic retro cola nails women with a new, pink energy drink.” – by Mark Morford(“Tab Energy Kills You Dead/The famously toxic retro cola nails women with a new, pink energy drink. Because you love it,” San Francisco Chronicle, March 8, 2006 — by Mark Morford)
You know what’s brilliant, in a skin-peeling, brain-grinding, I-can’t-feel-my-soul sort of way? Target marketing.
Target marketing, like when they take some toxic product you don’t really need and which you already know rots the lining of your skull and which could probably power a nuclear reactor, and then they put it into a special new package and pump it full with $100 million in marketing money and aim it straight at some exclusive demographic that’s not actually exclusive but which they want you to think is exclusive so if you belong to it you can say, Oh my goodness, I’m part of a sly, hip subculture and they’re speaking directly to me. I am so cool.
Click here to read more…
Click here to view…
“Pink Power: TaB is back, sort of” – by Jason Vaughn(“Pink Power: TaB is back, sort of,” FoxNews.com, March 1, 2006 — by Jason M. Vaughn)
TaB Energy … is it fuel to be fabulous?
Some people remember TaB Cola for its distinctive pink can, while others recall its “unique” taste. Still others associate the soft drink with a 1970s cancer scare.
Click here to read more…
TaB Extra (or TaB Xtra) is a diet soda available in Norway and Sweden, and maybe Iceland (here is a link to the Icelandic TaB, which does not appear to be TaB X-tra.)
Some more TaB Energy sightings (does Lindsey Lohan drink it?)…In the February 20th, 2006 issue of OK! magazine (please do not ask me why I read this), there is a blurb about TaB Energy and the launch party…
“Keeping TaBs….On the energy-soda explosion…
TaB, the old-school soft drink, got a new-century makeover. No longer just a sweet soda, this drink is now a pink energy elixir — yes pink, even served in little pink cans. To celebrate the launch of TaB’s new aimed-at-women, “we-only-kept-the-name-the-same” drink, celebs such as Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas, Lindsey Lohan, Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Kimberly Stewart came out and sipped the beverage at Drive In Studios in NYC. …”
Reviews of TaB Energy…Post your reviews here…
“TaB Energy: Fashionably Marketed”(“TaB Energy: Fashionably Marketed,” BrandNoise.com, January 26, 2006)
Tab Energy is an energy drink based on The Coca-Cola Company’s diet soda, Tab. It shares the Tab name but does not taste like the original Tab. The drink will be marketed to women. It is scheduled to hit shelves in early 2006. Tab Energy will not use Saccharin like original Tab instead it will contain Sucralose. Comparable to Red Bull, Tab Energy will be available in 10.5 ounce slim cans patterned in fuchsia gingham. Tab was Coca-Cola Company’s first sugar-free drink, introduced in 1963, and is still available in limited quantities.
“The peculiar appeal of Tab cola” — by Tim Nudd, Catherine Taylor(“The peculiar appeal of Tab cola,” AdFreak.com, February 1, 2006)
Lots of Tab news lately. Brand Noise has a post about Tab Energy, a new energy drink that’ll be sold in slim, Red Bullish cans. Among the early reviewers, Starving Actor’s Loft in Harlem seems to like it, but he did get it for free. And in The New Yorker, Ben McGrath uses the Tab Energy launch to talk about the cult of Tab freaks, which apparently include Steve Brill. The piece suggests that Tab’s “peculiar flavor (‘It tastes like metal’) and reputation for unhealthiness� are actually its strengths. We don’t have much to add here except, OK, here’s a vintage Tab ad. Enjoy.
—Posted by Tim Nudd
It is so obvious this article used ILoveTaB.com as a source, why weren’t we mentioned?
(“TaB Scare,” The New Yorker, January 1, 2006 – by Ben McGrath> BEVERAGE NEWS
As if the mainstream media were no beleaguered enough, now comes word that th Coca-Cola Company is about to release a ne drink called Tab Energy. The plan is to capitalize on the popularity of the Red Bull genre while trading on the retro cachet of Tab with those iconic pink cans—a plan that coul threaten the sanctity of one of journalism’ secret, and most self-conscious, power cliques the cult of Tab lovers, who have persisted in drinking the pioneering diet soda, despite it virtual disappearance from the market.
“Tab spinoff digs up memories of nasty original” – by Sherry Slater(“Tab spinoff digs up memories of nasty original,” The Journal Gazette, February 11, 2006 – by Sherry Slater)
When I read recently that the Coca-Cola Co. is launching an updated version of Tab, memories started fizzing and bubbling in my brain.
My mom bought that disgusting diet cola for about five years when I was a kid. We gulped it down because, even though we hated the taste of it, it was still pop. And it was supposed to be helping us lose weight.
“The plight of the TaB Addict [in Canada]” – by Jennifer Wells(“The plight of the TaB addict. VICES | The lengths to which some Canadians will go …,” TheStar.com, February 12, 2006 — by Jennifer Wells)
When it comes to vices, ya do what ya gotta do. Even if the vice in question isn’t anything near as illicit as say, crystal meth, but instead is sold over the counter in a pink pop can that recalls the era of Mary Quant, paisley shirts and winkle pickers.
Except it isn’t sold over the counter. Not in Toronto. Not in Ontario. Not in Canada, writ large.
Launch of TaBEnergy.comThe Coca-Cola Company has launched the official website for TaB Energy.
Coke says “Tab Energy will hit store shelves in February 2006.”
“Coca-Cola welcomes consumers to the ‘Coke side of life’ for global campaign” – by Julia Pearlman(“Coca-Cola welcomes consumers to the ‘Coke side of life’ for global campaign,” BrandRepublic.com, December 9, 2005, — by Julia Pearlman)
Excerpt relating to TaB Energy:
“In the last year alone, Coke launched more than a thousand products. But it is not stopping there. Several new products launching next year include: a coffee-flavoured soda called Coca-Cola Blak; a Tab energy drink for women; a bottled coffee called Far Coast; and black and green tea drinks called Gold Peak. ”
Click here to read more…
(“Coke Revamps Ad, Sets New Product,”) KGET.com, Week of December 9, 2005)
Excerpt relating to TaB Energy:
“Also during the presentation, Coke marketing chief Mary Minnick said Coke was introducing higher-margin extensions in the fast-growing water category and that it plans to launch ‘Tab’ energy drink targeting women. Minnick also announced the company’s new advertising slogan: “Welcome to the Coke Side of Life.”
Coca-Cola has introduced several diet and reduced-calorie drinks in recent months to meet changing consumer tastes.
It is also now packaging Coca-Cola in an 8.4-ounce can and touting the serving has just 100 calories, Minnick said.”
Click here to read more…
(“Why Coke Has Real Problems,” BusinessWeek.com, December 12, 2005, — by Dean Foust )
Excerpt relating to TaB Energy:
“And back in the U.S., Coke is using its shopworn Tab brand as the label for a new energy drink for women. The new drink is being called Tab Energy, has an energy-drink formulation, and the same can shape as Red Bull. ”
Click here to read more…
Ingredients
Carbonated Water, Citric Acid, Taurine, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Benzoate (to protect taste), Ginsend Extract, Caffeine, Vegetable Juice (for color), Acesulfame Potassium (“Ace-K,” an artificial sweetener), Sucralose (“Splenda,” an artificial sweetener), Carnitine Fumarate, Niacinamide (Vitamin B3), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Guarana Extract, Cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B12).
Taurine – 785 mg
Ginseng Extract – 116mg
Carnitine 19mg
Guarana 0.90mg
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size – 1 can (10.5lf oz, 311mL)
Calories – 5
Total Fat – 110mg (0% Daily Value)
Sodium – 110mg (5% Daily Value)
Total Carbohydrate – 0g (0% Daily Value)
Protein – less than 1g
Niacin 25%
Vitamin B6 25%
Vitamin B12 15%
This drink doesn’t look anything like TaB as far as sweeteners and the flavor.
A friend who was lucky enough to get a hold of the new TaB Energy packaging sent me a sample… It looks like it will be similar to Red Bull packaging, and will hold 4-cans per package.
(“A Jolt of Caffeine, by the Can,” NYTimes.com, November 23, 2005, — by Melanie Warner)
Excerpt relating to TaB Energy:
“A relative latecomer to the energy drink business, Coke is eager to become a much bigger player. In January, the company introduced Full Throttle, and last week it announced plans to revamp the 1970′s brand Tab, which has not been sold in any significant quantities in the last 20 years, as an energy drink aimed at women. It will also start selling a caffeinated version of its Powerade sports drink.”
Click here to read more…
(“TaB drinkers, advertising help reveal that choice is king,” GainesvilleTimes.com, November 1, 2005, — by J.C. Smith)
I am proud to tell you that I claim membership in a special market segment. This is an elite group. I carry a membership card for the TaB Drinkers of America.
Many people are not familiar with TaB. Many poor souls may have thought that the Coca-Cola Co. no longer bottled, as I like to call it, “the nectar of the gods.”
TaB is sold in Mozambique, South Africa, Spain, Botswana, Iceland, Namibia and Swaziland, as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Granted, TaB may not command the shelf space of other Coca-Cola products. Even with the introduction of Diet Coke in 1982, TaB has held its own over the years. First bottled in 1963, TaB was the company’s first sugar-free drink.
Click here to read more…
(“Fans have a soft spot for old soft drink–A Soda with a Following,” Pressconnects.com, September 19, 2005, — by Elizabeth Cohen)
Sometimes Broome County runs dry. When it does, Tammy Kocak scrambles. “Recently we drove to Scranton, to check out the Wegmans there,” said the Binghamton office administrator, 43, speaking of one recent shortage. “If I locate a place that has some stock, I’m tempted to buy it all up.”
Tammy Kocak of Binghamton works as an assistant to Broome County Executive Barbara Fiala. Kocak admits to drinking two cases of TaB a week.
Andy Warhol“You can see a billboard for TaB and think: Nancy Regan drinks TaB , Gloria Vanderbilt drinks TaB . Jackie Onassis drinks TaB , and just think, you can drink TaB too. TaB is TaB and no matter how rich you are, you can’t get a better one than the homeless woman on the corner is drinking. All the TaBs are the same. And all the TaBs are good. Nancy Regan knows it, Gloria Vanderbilt knows it, Jackie Onassis knows it, Katharine Hepburn knows it, the baglady knows it, and you know it.”
- Andy Warhol from America
About ILoveTaB.comWho are we?
Well, two hard core TaB junkies. Natalie began drinking TaB at a very young age, due to her mother’s addiction (it tends to run in families). In 1993 Chris and Natalie met, and a co-dependant relationship blossomed! From nursing hangovers with TaB to pulling all-nighters studying for exams with our trusty pink cans, we went through it all.
We were lucky then, since TaB was widely available in our hometowns and school. (Although Chris did mount a lengthy battle to convince the school to sell six-packs on the main campus.)
What is ILoveTaB.com?
This is the fourth incarnation of our TaB site. In 1996 we created the first web site for TaB addicts to come together and talk about their experiences, addictions, and search for the increasingly-rare TaB. We got a fantastic response from TaB addicts across the globe!
Many many cases of TaB later, we decided to spruce up our site. TaB addicts are dying off–Natalie’s mother has even given it up! This means that TaB is at extreme risk of disappearing off the shelves–forever!
We need to let Coca-Cola know that as long as they make TaB, we will be here to drink it.
Cheers, and glad to have you here,
Natalie & Chris
TaB WorldwideTaB can be found in the following countries:
Botswana
Iceland
Lesotho
Mozambique
Namibia
South Africa
Spain
Swaziland
US Virgin Islands
US
Tab X-Tra (a slightly different drink) is available in Norway and Sweden, and maybe Iceland.
ILoveTaB.com mentioned in pressconnects.comILoveTaB was mentioned in a NY local paper PressConnects.com the week of September 18, 2005.
“TaB drinkers would rather people not know. ‘I don’t want to spread it around that you can still get it or where I am getting it, because I don’t need any more competition for the few cases around for sale,’ said Kathi Cook of Binghamton, who has been drinking TaB since she was 15. ‘The other day I ran into someone else — another TaB drinker — at the market. We talked a little bit and then agreed to split the eight six-packs on sale.’
Haven’t we all felt that way? 
(“Tab will get energy makeover,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, September, 21, 2005 — by Caroline Wilbert)
Bell-bottoms came back into style, more than once. Disco had a resurgence. People are even wearing shirts with little alligators on them again.
So why not Tab?
TaB was the first major diet cola…
TaB was the first major diet cola, and the first sugar-free cola The Coca-Cola Company developed.
TaB debuted in April 1963.
Read a fantastic article from Atlanta Magazine on “Project Alpha,” which details the development of TaB (from the formula, package design, and naming).
“The year Diet Coke was introduced, TaB had a 4.3 percent share of the soft drink market. As Diet Coke went up, TaB headed south. In 1984 TaB tumbled to 1.8 percent of the market.” (Marketing Warfare, Al Ries)
TaB stands for “totally artificial beverage.” Fact or Myth??
TaB with Calicum? Root Beer TaB?Over the years there have been many versions of our favorite drink… “TaB flavors, such as ginger ale and root beer, were an idea that made sense when TaB was Coca-Cola’s diet-drink entry and they wanted to compete in other flavor categories. The concept failed, in part because substantial segments felt that TaB had a disagreeable taste; it was basically perceived as low-quality by large parts of the market.” (Managing Brand Equity, David A Aaker)
Here is a short list:
Here are some quotes from Coke’s website…
Keeping tabs on a favorite…
TaB was The Coca-Cola Company’s first sugar-free drink, introduced in 1963, when 28 percent of Americans had begun watching their weight. Its name was a play on the notion of people keeping “tabs” on their weight.
Although sales of TaB were surpassed by the introduction of diet Coke®, the brand still has fiercely loyal fans who have been known to travel hundreds of miles to find their favorite drink. (link)
-and-
This sugar free drink, launched in 1963, was one of the first ways consumers cold keep “tabs” on their diet. TaB was the Coca-Cola Company’s first sugar free drink and se the stage for the wave of diet colas that followed. Today, the pink can is still a distinctive statement. TaB has achieved pop-culture status and has the reputation of being somewhat hard to find. If your grocery carries TaB, drink up and enjoy your good fortune! (link)
TaB (US) Nutritional InformationIngredients
Carbonated Water, Caramel Color, Natural Flavors, Phosphoric Acid, Calcium Saccharin, Potassium Benzoate (To Protect Taste), Caffeine, Aspartame.
Nutritional Information
Serving Size – 1 can (12 fl oz, 355 mL)
Calories Per Serving – 0
Total Fat – 0g
Sodium – 40mg (2% Daily value)
Total Carb – 0g
Total Protein – 0g
Aspartame (Nutra-Sweet) – 19mg
Saccharin – 64mg
TaB and Artificial Sweeteners (Saccharin, Nutrasweet, etc)TaB contains 64mg of saccharin, and 19mg of aspartame (Nutra-Sweet).
Sweetener comparison (Click here to download a PDF file that shows ingredients of Coca-Cola products)
For over 30 years TaB, along with all other products containing saccharin, had to have the following warning on the label:
“Use of this product may be hazardous to your health. This product contains saccharin which has been determined to cause cancer in laboratory animals.”
Saccharin is the oldest low calorie sweetener. It was discovered by accident in 1879 at Johns Hopkins, and has been used as an artificial sweetener ever since. It was first used in many products during World War I when sugar became scarce.
In 1960, studies on saccharin suggested that it caused bladder cancer in rats, and the FDA moved to limit its use. Though Canada banned saccharin outright in 1977, the US Congress placed a moratorium on the ban to allow for more research on saccharin’s safety. This moratorium has been extended seven times due to continued consumer demand. Over the past 30 years, numerous studies have clearly shown that saccharin does not cause cancer in humans, and the original studies were flawed.
In December 2000, after years of review, the original saccharin studies were found to be flawed, the ban was lifted and the warning was removed.
Saccharin vs Aspartame (Nutra-Sweet)
The original TaB, which did not contain aspartame/Nutra-Sweet, had a much longer shelf life than TaB today.
Many TaB drinkers will drink Diet Coke out of a soda fountain, but not out of a can. This is because fountain Diet Coke contains saccharin (which has a longer shelf-life). Of course, it is still no substitute for TaB.
Click here to download a PDF file that shows the sweetener ingredients in Coca-Cola brand fountain soft drinks.
Read “The Bitter Truth About a Sweetener Scare” by Dr. Elizabeth Whelan that was in The Wall Street Journal in 1999.
Check out this link to find out how much TaB you would have to drink for it to kill you.
Caffeine occurs naturally in more than 60 plants including coffee beans, tea leaves, kola nuts and cacao beans. It is a white crystalline powder that tastes very bitter.
The majority of caffeine comes from the process of decaffeinating coffee.
TaB contains approximately half the caffeine of regular coffee and is 10th among soft drinks.
1. Red Bull (8oz) – 100mg
2. Coffee – 80mg
3. Jolt – 70mg
4. Pepsi One – 56mg
5. Mountain Dew – 55mg
6. Mountain Dew Code Red – 55mg
7. Diet Moutain Dew – 55mg
8. Mellow Yellow – 53mg
9. Surge – 51mg
10. TaB – 47mg
(“Project Alpha”Atlanta Magazine, 1963 – by Bill Diehl)
The pensive gentleman below is taste-testing a new low-calorie soft drink, which is being introduced to the world this month. In a special report for Atlanta Magazine, here is the behind-the-scenes story of how “TaB� was born.
On a Monday morning in February, one act of an unusual industrial drama was plated out in the sedate boardroom on the fourth floor of The Coca Cola Company building on North Avenue. Eight men were present in the walnut-paneled room. Two were members of the omnipotent Packaging Committee, which says “yea� or “nay� to everything Coca-Cola Bottlers use, from bottle caps to vending machines. The others were members of a special team, which, for several months, had been working, in complete secrecy on the design of a new soft drink bottle. The meeting lasted only a few minutes. The committee nodded “yea.� The bottle became a production item.
TaB stands for “totally artificial beverage.” Fact or Myth??from Snopes.com
Claim:
Coca-Cola’s original diet cola drink, TaB, took its name from an acronym for “totally artificial beverage.”
Status:
False.
“The Bitter Truth About a Sweetener Scare”(“The Bitter Truth About a Sweetener Scare,” The Wall Street Journal, August 26, 1999 — by Dr. Elizabeth Whelan)
The recent death of Michael Sveda, the chemist who discovered cyclamates, an artificial sweetener, and worked on other industrial chemicals including DDT, brought me back to the pivotal day in my professional career.
On Oct. 18. 1969, holding a can of TaB, I watched Health, Education and Welfare Secretary Robert Finch tell the nation that because the sweetener posed a risk of cancer it would be banned. Just a few days before, I had seen a Food and Drug Administration scientist on television holding up deformed, sickly chicks that had been injected with cyclamates. At the time I was pursuing a doctoral degree in public health and knew that no sweeteners or other food additives had ever been cited as a possible factor in cancer causation. Why all this attention for a phantom risk? Why were we banning safe, useful products under the guise of cancer prevention? I have pursued an answer to those questions ever since.
“TaB Diet Soda: The customer lifeline”(“TaB Diet Soda: The customer lifeline,” Advanced Brand Management, 2002 — by Paul Temporal)
TaB has a shrinking market share of less than 1% and yet it has been spared the axe by Coca-Cola. The brand, once so successful, now resides at the bottom of the category heap. It was launched in 1963, and immediately became the drink of the “free” generation, the “Beautiful Drink for Beautiful People.” But in 1982 Diet Coke was introduced to add more power to the Coke brand, and TaB began to go downhill. Basically, its demise has been determined by a cannibalization of sales by Diet Coke, and a simultaneous competitive attack from Diet Pepsi and other such carbonated drinks. The company made several attempts to revitalize TaB in the 1980s and 1990s, through various product changes (fro example, reducing the content of the carcinogen saccharin and increasing the amount of aspartame, adding calcium, and making a clear alternative), and even by repositioning TaB as the drink with “sass.” However, all these efforts have failed to revive the brand.
“Keeping Tab(s): Brands’ fans loyal”(“Keeping Tab(s): Brands’ fans loyal,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, October 14, 2003 — by Scott Leith -Staff)
Pam Nutt is clearly a TaB nut.
Yes, she’s heard plenty of little witticisms based on her last name. No matter. This one is accurate, Nutt said, given that she drinks six cans of Tab a day.
“When the distributor told me they were going to discontinue TaB in the machine at school, I almost died,” said Nutt, a teacher who lives in Henry County. “I begged them not to take it out.”
Such hard-core devotion might seem a bit much, but it is keeping TaB alive. As a little-known, small-selling soda, TaB owes its existence to a small army of sometimes fanatical consumers who will do almost anything to see that store shelves remain stocked with their favorite drink.
“What We Used To Drink: TaB Clear Cola”(“What We Used To Drink: TaB Clear Cola,” This is Bristol (in association with The Evening Post), June 15, 2004)
TaB Clear Cola? Never heard of it.
Never heard of it?
If you didn’t drink TaB Clear Cola in the 90s, you weren’t really there, mate. It was a design classic, a legend born in 1993, one of the greatest years of the decade, the year when, errmm, errmm . . .
You’re struggling . . .
The year when Michael Jackson was accused (for the first time) of kiddy-fiddling and Clint Eastwood’s movie Unforgiven won an Oscar.
Never heard of that, either. Tell me more about TaB Clear.
“Keeping TaB: A Diet Soft Drink Shelf Life”(“Keeping TaB: A Diet Soft Drink Shelf Life,” Journal of American & Comparative Cultures, March 2004– by George Plasketes)
“If there’s a heritage to a brand and the brand has withstood the test of time maybe there’s a story to tell.”
Jeffrey Himmel, CEO, Himmel Group, New York
Since its formulation in 1963, the Coca-Cola Company’s offspring, Tab, has transcended standard diet soft drink status to become a quirky yet enduring cultural icon that invites contradiction, curiosity, and anachronistic quips. Taste tests alone yield divergent responses along the soft drink spectrum. Self-professed Tabaholics pronounce the beverage an “elixir of the gods,” likening a sip to a “crisp Chardonnay” (McKay B1). More cautious, less complimentary cola connoisseurs characterize Tab’s taste as “sassy” (Giges, “Why Coke” 2), “mysterious” (Bryant), or “a good tart coke” (Allen 320), while dissenters dismiss Tab with distasteful descriptions such as “diety,”"peppery,”"astringent,” and “metallic” (McKay B1). Likewise, Tab’s presence at the grocery check-out lanes invites contrasting glances from bar-code scanning clerks, often defined along generational lines, the older response being, “I didn’t know they still made that stuff,” while the standard younger remark is, “Oh, is this a new drink?” 1
Famed [TaB bottle] L.B. designer dies in hit-and-run(“Famed [TaB bottle] L.B. designer dies in hit-and-run,” Long Beach Press Telegram, November, 2004– by Tracy Manzer)
LONG BEACH — When Jana Yoshizumi was about 12 years old, she lost contact with her father following her parents’ separation.
Several years ago, the father and 28-year-old daughter reconnected and forged a strong bond that included phone calls several days a week and many trips to her dad’s Long Beach home.
“It was like I was 12 all over again,” Jana said Tuesday.
“It’s hard for me to accept that he was taken from me again, and I’ll never get a second chance this time.”
