The Truth About The Exclusive Coca-Cola Insiders Club
It was a case of if you blinked, you missed it. In mid-December 2019, Coca-Cola announced on Twitter that it would be launching a Coca-Cola Insider's Club, which Delish described as the brand's version of a wine club, but for non-boozy beverages. For a monthly fee of $10, or $50 prepaid, members would be given a monthly shipment of three beverages ranging from sparkling water to never-before-seen versions of their favorite sodas, as well as Coke-branded swag which was designed exclusively for Insiders to enjoy.
With the promise of all that, it was easy to see why diehard fans swooped in to sign up, and all 1,000 memberships had sold out in just three hours (via The Coca-Cola Company). Coke's branding team appeared to be as excited as their fans. "We're absolutely thrilled to see how quickly the spots went, which shows just how passionate consumers are about our brands and innovations," digital experiences manager for Coca-Cola North America, Alex Powell said. "It proves there is an opportunity to scale the concept and allow more people to participate."
The Insider's Club filled up just hours after it was announced
The club was so popular that two days after it launched, a Coca-Cola spokesman told Fast Company that the waitlist already had 8,000 people and that they would be looking to open up additional spots by mid-January, which Redditors confirmed Coke did.
Between January to March, a box came filled with new drinks to sample, and new swag to show off to fellow Coke die-hards (the first box even had an Amazon gift card), and fans were impressed. One Redditor said: "Inside I received several stickers, a gift card, pens, Fanta Peach, a flavored water and what looks like some new energy drink or something. The packaging was super nice, I am about to give this peach Fanta a try. Overall, for $50 this is totally worth it, I'm sure, to the thousand people who decided to enter."
But it was not to be. After the coronavirus pandemic swept through the country, Coca-Cola said it made what it called the difficult decision to cancel the remaining three boxes, and chose to donate its contents to local charities. Is the club dead? We think not, since CSP Daily News says Coke has already promised Insiders would get to sample its latest release — Coca-Cola with Coffee — before its January 2021 launch date.