Panel test: this is the tastiest zero cola and it costs next to nothing
Honestly: do you think Coca-Cola or Pepsi is better than a supermarket-brand cola from Aldi or Lidl? That those big brands taste better, perhaps even better for you? The fact that we fall for this hook, line and sinker—time and time again—is once again evident from a new cola zero taste test by AD. Once again, a supermarket-brand zero cola comes out on top.
I say once again because this is clearly not the first time a supermarket-brand zero cola has been tested as the best. Better than big-brand zero colas, that is. In an earlier test by a research agency, the glorious winner was Dekamarkt’s First Choice cola zero. The funny thing is that this zero cola doesn’t score nearly as well in the new AD test. In fact, with a mediocre six, First Choice cola comes in second to last. So which supermarket brand does the panel consider the very best?
The three-person tasting panel
First, let’s meet the panel itself. The three-person tasting team consisted of Craft Drinks director Jules van Harn, food journalist Lisa van der Linden and Cleo Vehmeyer, owner of tableware store Représentable and a major zero-cola fan. In total, the panel tested 10 different types of zero cola, all available in supermarkets. They included AH Cola No sugar, Jumbo cola zero, Plus cola zero, Gwoon cola zero, Freeway cola zero (Lidl’s supermarket brand), River cola zero (Aldi), Highway cola zero, Picnic cola zero, First Choice cola zero and Coca-Cola zero. So there is one big brand in the lineup; all the others are supermarket brands.
Coca-Cola
If you look purely at the price, Coca-Cola zero should have finished at the top of the test by a mile. At € 2.49 for 1.5 liters, this zero cola is by far the most expensive kid in the class. But I already gave you a major spoiler: Coca-Cola zero did not come out on top. It did finish in second place, with a grade of 8. Two of the three panel members were very enthusiastic about the big-brand zero cola; one thought it lacked the authentic cola flavor. So no glorious victory for Coca-Cola. So which brand came in first?
The winner
The answer: Lidl’s Freeway cola zero! The three panel members are full of praise for the drink. Great flavor, fizzy, full-bodied, attractive color, nicely balanced… Wow, those are compliments I’d like to receive too. With a solid 9, Freeway cola zero comfortably takes the top spot. Even better: a 2-liter bottle of the brand costs just € 1.19. Let this be a sign that we should remove that blindfold and stop blindly falling for all the glossy marketing talk from big brands.
Big brand vs. supermarket brand
Okay, in all fairness, we should also say that a supermarket-brand zero cola came last. It couldn’t have been otherwise, because only one big brand took part in the race—and it finished second. Unfortunately, Gwoon cola zero (Coop’s supermarket brand) does not come across very well according to the tasting panel. They found it not sweet or flavorful enough. Apparently, only the fizz seems to linger, if we are to believe the panel. One panel member even calls the zero cola downright disgusting. Maybe not every supermarket brand is a better option than a big brand… But being a little less naive certainly wouldn’t hurt.
Also read:
- Once and for all: cola light and cola zero are not the same
- What’s the better choice: cola or fruit juice?
- The latest Coca-Cola 3000 Zero Sugar was designed by AI
Source: AD/BNDeStem
