Coca-Cola Just Launched A New Mystery Flavor Created By AI
Coca-Cola just dropped its latest mystery soda flavor—and it will supposedly let you taste the future.
This unique new drink, Coca-Cola Y3000, was crafted using insights from both humans and artificial intelligence (AI) on what the future may taste and feel like. Coca-Cola is being intentionally vague about the actual flavor, so customers will have to crack open a bottle or can for themselves in order to find out.
"We hope that Coca‑Cola will still be as relevant and refreshing in the year 3000 as it is today, so we challenged ourselves to explore the concept of what a Coke from the future might taste like—and what kind of experiences would a Coke from the future unlock?" Oana Vlad, senior director of global strategy at Coca-Cola, said in a statement.
Y3000 is the latest to join a line of mystery and nontraditional soda flavors that Coca-Cola first announced in 2022. The drink company hasn't shied away from abstract, unusual concepts when seeking inspiration for these beverages, called Coca-Cola Creations.
Coca-Cola Ultimate, a Coca-Cola Creation that launched in June, was supposed to taste like "experience points" from the online battle arena video game League of Legends. Other flavors in the series have included the outer space-flavored Starlight, pixel-flavored Byte, and Dreamworld, which was inspired by the human imagination.
On top of the actual sodas, Coca-Cola has also introduced digital experiences and features with some of the launches so fans can immerse themselves even more in the concepts behind each drink. Anyone who purchased the Starlight flavor, for example, could scan the can or bottle to access an augmented reality "Concert on a Can" featuring popstar Ava Max.
For the Y3000 flavor, customers can scan a QR code on the soda packs to access the Coca‑Cola Creations Hub. There, they can filter photos through a Y3000 AI Cam "to envision what their current reality could look like in the future." Coca-Cola also teamed up with the fashion brand AMBUSH for a limited edition line of apparel and accessories inspired by the future. It will become available this fall on the brand's website.
"The role of every drop is to leverage the latest, most advanced technologies and cultural trends to create novel experiences," Vlad said in the Coca-Cola Y3000 announcement. "After leaning into augmented reality last year, we're embracing the power of AI and continuing to build our company's capabilities in this exciting space."
Coca-Cola Y3000, available in both zero sugar and full-sugar varieties, is hitting grocery store shelves in the United States this week.
This isn't the only mystery soft drink flavor to hit the market in recent days. Fanta, another beverage brand under the Coca-Cola umbrella, recently debuted a spooky new Halloween soda that's black in color and turns your tongue black when you drink it. The new flavor is part of the "What the Fanta?" campaign that has seen Coca-Cola release a series of mystery sodas with flavors and colors all designed to "fool the senses and challenge tastebuds with opposite flavor notes."
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