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I have some Tab items listed on eBay! Check them out if you're interested.
Tab was the first major diet cola. After being very popular in the 80s, Tab seemingly faded into oblivion even as diet soda finally made it into mainstream culture. Coca-Cola (which makes Tab) promoted Diet Coke with NutraSweet instead of Tab which was sweetened with saccharin.
After several years without Tab, I was walking down the soda aisle at a Food Emporium in New Jersey when I spotted the familiar red pinstripe cans. I purchased some, and I discovered that it tastes exactly as I remember it. Surprisingly, it now does contain aspartame (NutraSweet), though.
Recently, I received a copy of "Project Alpha", an article that appeared in Atlanta Magazine in May 1963. This article detailed the development of Tab. The story began in 1958 when diet soda controlled merely 1.5% of the soda market. By 1962, this percentage had doubled. Coca-Cola decided that it was time to get involved. The development of Tab began in June of 1962. The workers had until April 1, 1963 to have the drink, its bottle, and its brand identity ready for market.
After hundreds of taste tests, researchers narrowed the choices for flavor down to two. They sent the candidates to families around the country to find the one people liked better. Naming this new drink was also a problem. Market research said the name should be something short and easily remembered (three to six letters). They configured an IBM 1401 computer to print all four letter word combinations that had a vowel. This generated over 250,000 words; they also added names suggested by employees. Coca-Cola narrowed the list to 600 possibilities and checked each of these against existing trademarks. By the time of the final selection, there were less than two dozen choices left. TAB was the final choice.
The original Tab bottle was a complete departure from all the previous bottles. They wanted a completely radical design, but it had to be compatible with all of the automated equipment in use at the time (bottle fillers, packagers, vending machines, etc.). It had to be "unique but the same." A textured bottle was the final decision. Although this took some engineering skill to design, the bottle was also ready by the deadline.
Over the years, there have been several versions of Tab. The original Tab, sweetened with saccharin (and cyclamates), was introduced in May of 1963. When cyclamates were banned, a version of Tab sweetened with saccharin and a small amount of sugar was introduced. Caffeine-free Tab was introduced in April of 1983. On May 16, 1984, Tab with a saccharin/aspartame blend was made available. Also, during the early '90s, Coca-Cola marketed Tab Clear.
Mixed drinks with Tab: According to a reader, Rum and Tab is
a good twist on the classic Rum and Coke. I have formulated some of my
own soda-mixtures including Tab. If you are fortunate enough to be able
to get Moxie and/or
Mr.
Pibb in your area, here are some good combinations to try (these are
just what I've tried; experiment with it!):
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"Use of this product may be hazardous to your health. This product contains saccharin which has been determined to cause cancer in laboratory animals."
Tab and saccharin seem to be indelibly linked in the minds of consumers. Recently, the government has decided that the original saccharin studies were flawed and may not be valid. There is now no hard evidence that saccharin does cause cancer in humans. To quote from a New York Times article, "...Laboratory studies indicated that saccharin may cause cancer in mice, but no reliable study in people has yet borne that out." In fact, the FDA is considering removal of saccharin from its list of suspected carcinogens. The evidence that saccharin causes cancer is so weak, that even suspicion is groundless. The original rat studies were flawed in two ways. The rats that died consumed an equivalent amount of saccharin to a human drinking gallons of diet cola every day for a lifetime. Secondly, rats metabolize saccharin in a different manner than humans. The removal of saccharin from the carcinogen list could clear the way for the saccharin-related warning labels to disappear from packages. So drink up and enjoy!
Hopefully, if there is a central location for Tab information and news, we [the consumers] can keep the Tab brand alive. When I made this page, I was surprised at the number of people who sent me email saying how much they love Tab. In order to keep this page updated, I could use help from everyone. If you know a particular store that stocks Tab and has a web site, please send me their web site address. Also, if you have any Tab or Tab-related pictures or advertisements, I would like to put them in the Tab Photo Gallery. Links, pictures, and any other information can be sent to me by email.
Where'd the email address go? It's on my Frequently Asked Questions page. If I don't mandate that people go through this page, everyone continues to ask me questions for which I have already written answers. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Page update for November 27, 2003: I added a few links below including a humorous Tab Movie.
I am not affiliated with any of the companies listed in the page, including Coca-Cola and Dr. Soda. Coca-Cola owns all the copyrights and trademarks related to Tab. I don't make any claim to this information. Please see the FAQ file for more information.
Last Updated: 11-27-03
Location: http://home.epix.net/~tjwagner/tab.html
