Fact Check

Does Photo Show Garlic-Flavored Coca-Cola?

Rumors claimed that the product was being test-marketed in Romania.

Published Feb. 14, 2015

Updated Sept. 22, 2022
 (Pixabay)
Image Via Pixabay
Claim:
A photograph shows a can of garlic-flavored Coca-Cola being test-marketed in Romania.

A photograph purportedly showing a can of Coca-Cola Garlic has been circulating on the internet since at least 2014. The image was typically accompanied by text that explained the fictional flavor of Coca-Cola was available in Romania:

The above-displayed image, however, was not taken at a grocery store in Romania. The original photograph, taken in France in 2011 by Flickr user José Roitberg, showed a can of Coca-Cola Cherry; the original logo was then stripped from it and replaced with a fictional one for Coca-Cola Garlic:

As of 2015, there was no garlic Coca-Cola product available in Romania (or elsewhere), but that could change in the future. Food and Wine reported in February 2015 that Takkola, a garlic-flavored cola drink, was the new craze in Japan.

Another example was collected via Twitter in October 2014:

Sources

@mikegymkitchen. Twitter, 13 Oct. 2014, https://twitter.com/mikegymkitchen/status/521605066298376192.

Pomranz, Mike. “Garlic Cola Is Japan’s Latest Crazy Beverage.” Food & Wine, 2 Feb. 2015, https://www.foodandwine.com/drinks/garlic-cola-japan-s-latest-crazy-beverage.

Roitberg, José. “2011 Cherry Coke Purple Can France.” Flickr, 14 Jan. 2011, https://www.flickr.com/photos/roitberg/5384922299/.

Updates

On Sept. 22, 2022 this old story was updated to our new format and writing style from The Associated Press.

David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994.

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