Fast on the heels of my surprisingly-favorable review of McDonald's in China, I now deliver a defense of another sinister American import, Coca-Cola. I am a huge fan and big consumer of Diet Coke, and I am so happy I can drink it from one side of China to the other. Quaffing other cola products are like drinking liquid cinder blocks compared to Diet Coke, a.k.a. Coca-Cola Light, a.k.a. jian yi kele (literally, no-sugar Cola). So, for those knuckleheads who enjoy the full-calorie, full-sugar alternative, you can take your billions of cases of original Coke or Pepsi and resume building the Great Wall. The rest of us will enjoy our low-calorie carbonated fix.
Diet drink marketing in China has been slow, mostly due to some old-world thinking. It seems many people in undevevloped countries associate the English word "diet" with women who want to lose weight. Consuming a "diet" drink is still seen to be un-manly here. Hence, such drinks are labeled "light" drinks. I've seen Coca-Cola Light, Pepsi Light, even Dr. Pepper Light on the shelves in China. It is almost like the struggle to market light beer in the U. S. 30 years ago. It's interesting to note, too, that Coke Zero is a Chinese curiosity among sodas, while its market share is marginal in the U. S. and Europe.
So it's a mixed bag regarding low-calorie sodas in Beijing. It may be comforting for the culture snobs to know that a lot of Chinese do not consider Coca-Cola products to be healthy at all. Tea is, has been, and always will be the drink of choice in China. After all, many TV commercials air featuring fit, healthy young people singing songs and enjoying tea at the beach, so it must be good for you, right?
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