Coca-Cola launching zero-calorie drink
The Coca-Cola Co. said Monday it will launch a no-calorie version of its trademark soft drink called Coca-Cola Zero in the United States in June.
The drink will be sweetened partly with a blend of aspartame and acesulfame potassium. Aspartame is a key ingredient in Diet Coke, but a spokesman for the Atlanta-based company said Coca-Cola Zero will have a unique taste.
The new drink will have its own marketing campaign.
With the rollout of Coca-Cola Zero, there will be a half-dozen different versions of trademark Coca-Cola on the market. There are also several different varieties of Diet Coke, including the recently announced rollout of Diet Coke sweetened with Splenda.
Yahoo buys photo-sharing company
Yahoo Inc. is acquiring a Canadian photo-sharing company that lets people share digital images with select groups or the whole world, expanding its portfolio of self-publishing and “social networking” services.
The startup, Flickr Inc., lets people upload digital photos from computers and camera phones, publish photos in their blogs, share digital photo albums with anyone else who uses the service, and alert other users whenever they upload a new photo or album.
Neither Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo nor Vancouver, B.C.-based Flickr would disclose terms of the acquisition, which was completed Friday.
Flickr, which currently offers a free beta product on its Web site, reassured members Monday that Yahoo wants to keep Flickr’s management team and preserve the “flavor” of its online community.
“It means that we’ll no longer have to draw straws to see who gets paid,” one Flickr worker wrote Monday in a post to the startup’s official blog.
Scotts adds Miracle-Gro to name
The Scotts Co. changed its name Monday to The Scotts Miracle-Gro Co., saying it would show off one of its best-known brands and help make investors and others more familiar with its full range of lawn care and gardening products.
“We are more clearly defining ourselves as a branded consumer products company to investors and others who may not be as familiar with our industry,” said Jim Hagedorn, chairman and chief executive.
The new name comes with a new holding company structure that the company said gives it more flexibility to grow and provides more legal protection for its businesses and brands. Publicly owned Scotts Miracle-Gro will be the parent company of The Scotts Co. LLC.
Scotts has more than $2 billion in annual sales with brands including Miracle-Gro plant food, Ortho pesticide and Turf Builder fertilizer. It also sells seeds and gardening tools, and markets Roundup herbicide for maker Monsanto Co.