{"id":937512,"date":"2026-10-23T00:46:15","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T00:46:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/937512\/"},"modified":"2026-10-23T00:46:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T00:46:15","slug":"mcdonalds-brings-back-discontinued-menu-item-after-four-year-absence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/937512\/","title":{"rendered":"McDonald\u2019s brings back discontinued menu item after four-year absence"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>McDonald\u2019s has brought back Diet Coke after a four-year absence, with fans of the popular beverage applauding its return.<\/p>\n<p>Diet Coke was removed from menus at Maccas nationwide in 2022, with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/lifestyle\/food\/healthy-fast-food-hacks-gyg-el-jannah-subway-dr-joanna-mcmillan-20261022-p617lf.html\" class=\"sc-iRgEWu hHENWX\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">fast food giant<\/a> focusing on Coke Classic and Coke Zero on its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/lifestyle\/money\/dominos-fast-food-chains-switch-pepsi-coca-cola-kfc-mcdonalds-pizza-hut-20261021-p616nr.html\" class=\"sc-iRgEWu hHENWX\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">soft drinks menu<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\" \" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/e0b500269899e40311fdf655738b2366eb71e5e70f6b7454255697c0830e5371.jpeg\"  width=\"100%\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"_0b53bae146db0b62 _7475dd3391ee1518\" style=\"--text-color:var(--color-text-secondary)\">Diet Coke has made a comeback after a four-year absence.\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n<p>A spokesperson for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/lifestyle\/food\/maccas-all-day-breakfast-returns-victoria-trial-mcdonalds-australia-20260929-p611a8.html\" class=\"sc-iRgEWu hHENWX\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">McDonald\u2019s Australia<\/a> told nine.com.au Diet Coke\u2019s return was in response to customer feedback.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve heard the calls for Diet Coke to return, and we\u2019re excited to confirm it\u2019s coming back to Macca\u2019s, giving customers even more choice when it comes to their favourite drinks,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDiet Coke is now rolling out to restaurants across Australia and will continue to land on menus over the coming months.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"McDonalds Yagoona now\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/4acd0ef7633a56d76e10faf30dfcdc32e1d9b083.jpeg\"  width=\"100%\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"_0b53bae146db0b62 _7475dd3391ee1518\" style=\"--text-color:var(--color-text-secondary)\">The fast food giant said the drinks return was in response to customer demand.\u00a0Supplied<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\" \" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/b522a7d929a622456608ad3d44f3a85c49820d74eb8c4c7aac534514f92492fa.jpeg\"  width=\"100%\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"_0b53bae146db0b62 _7475dd3391ee1518\" style=\"--text-color:var(--color-text-secondary)\">Maccas now serve Coke Classic, Coke Zero, and Diet Coke.\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n<p>McDonald\u2019s Australia permanently removed post-mix Diet Coke from all fountain drink taps across the country in early January 2023. <\/p>\n<p>Got a story? Contact Jo Abi at jabi@nine.com.au<\/p>\n<p>Now that it is returned it is available as part of all meal deals alongside other soft drink options.<\/p>\n<p>Macca\u2019s popular Frozen Coke drink comes in both Coke Classic and Coke Zero. Also in the drinks line up are Sprite and Fanta. <\/p>\n<p>McDonald\u2019s Australia has served Coca-Cola since the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/lifestyle\/food\/guzman-y-gomez-bbq-beef-rib-menu-launch-20261015-p615w8.html\" class=\"sc-iRgEWu hHENWX\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">fast-food chain<\/a> opened its very first Australian restaurant in May 1971 at Yagoona, Sydney, marking the beginnings of a 55-year partnership.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike competitors Domino\u2019s and KFC, which have periodically switched beverage suppliers or tested different market arrangements, McDonald\u2019s has maintained an exclusive partnership with Coca-Cola across its entire footprint since the franchise\u2019s inception.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\" \" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/728fa8712fabd954a9a2bfd863cf733c8310006459aad0a69d07568d7c78dd9c.jpeg\"  width=\"100%\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"_0b53bae146db0b62 _7475dd3391ee1518\" style=\"--text-color:var(--color-text-secondary)\">McDonald\u2019s has maintained an exclusive partnership with Coca-Cola since its inception.\u00a0Getty <\/p>\n<p>Coca-Cola first released Diet Coke in 1982 in the US before it landed in Australia the following year, replacing Coca-Cola\u2019s original low-sugar option Tab.<\/p>\n<p>By the end of 1983, Diet Coke had become the top-selling diet soft drink in the US and the third overall most popular soft drink behind regular Coke and Pepsi.<\/p>\n<p>Coca-Cola officially announced the discontinuation of Tab in October 2020, with production ending on December 31, 2020. This was part of an overhaul of Coca-Cola\u2019s soft drinks range which saw underperforming options pulled from the market.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\" \" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/729b174738b482bbcd918c9dd7cba7913fc932d9d8cfaca5bbed78a3e3a527db.jpeg\"  width=\"100%\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"_0b53bae146db0b62 _7475dd3391ee1518\" style=\"--text-color:var(--color-text-secondary)\">Coca-Cola first released Diet Coke in 1982 before it landed in Australia the following year.\u00a0Getty <\/p>\n<p>Coke Classic is Australia\u2019s bestseller out of the Coca-Cola range. Coke Zero officially surpassed Diet Coke as Australia\u2019s second-favourite Coca-Cola beverage in 2008, just two years after its Australian launch in early 2006.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"McDonald\u2019s has brought back Diet Coke after a four-year absence, with fans of the popular beverage applauding its&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":937513,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,99],"class_list":["post-937512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/937512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=937512"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/937512\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/937513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=937512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=937512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=937512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}