New York City may have a new state of emergency: There’s no Diet Coke.
In neighborhoods across the five boroughs, fizzy diehards point to particularly egregious offenders like Amazon Fresh, which allegedly has been dry for nearly a month, with dis-honorable mentions for Fresh Direct, Costco and Target.
Resources are low, and the danger is imminent.
On the Upper East Side, where one resident recently asked neighbors whether anyone else had been unable to order Diet Coke cans for nearly a month, the answer came quickly.
“We declared an emergency in our house,” one neighbor responded, in no uncertain terms.
And the panic apparently doesn’t stop at 96th Street.
An Amazon Fresh customer in Brooklyn said this month that they hadn’t seen any Coke products in stock since Aug. 5, while others chimed in from Harlem, Queens and Long Island. One Brooklyn shopper said even a local Costco had been out.
“They can cut off the gas, they can cut off the diesel, but if they cut off the Diet Coke there will finally be revolution,” one commenter declared in solidarity.
Although a quick online search on Fresh Direct and Amazon Fresh shows cans of the silver legend available for purchase, it feels odd that it would ever “run out” in the first place.
It is a conspicuous problem for one of the most ubiquitous drinks on the planet.
Coca-Cola generated nearly $48 billion in revenue last year, and while the company does not disclose Diet Coke sales separately, Diet Coke is one of its 30 “billion-dollar brands.” Global volume for Diet Coke and Coca-Cola Light actually surged 7% in the second quarter this year, driven by growth in North America and Asia Pacific.
So where did all the cans go? Online sleuths have theories.
Some Amazon Fresh customers have speculated that the missing Coke products have less to do with an actual shortage and more to do with some behind-the-scenes business snafu involving contracts, invoices, or the retailer’s account with Coca-Cola.
One commenter claiming to work at an Amazon Fresh facility said the warehouse had been receiving Pepsi products but not Coke, fueling speculation that the problem may be specific to Amazon rather than evidence of a citywide supply shortage.
The Post has not independently verified those claims.
But the apparent drought comes during an unusually turbulent year for the beloved refreshment.
The ongoing U.S.-Iran war has already been blamed for a very real Diet Coke shortage half a world away. In India, where Diet Coke is sold only in cans, supplies dwindled this spring as a disrupted aluminum supply chain through the Strait of Hormuz cut off shipments.
Scarcity became so severe that restaurants and influencers in New Delhi and Mumbai began throwing tongue-in-cheek “Diet Coke parties,” with fans gathering around the suddenly precious cans.
Coca-Cola has also acknowledged more broadly that aluminum and certain ingredient shortages can occasionally affect Diet Coke availability.
No evidence shows the overseas disruption is responsible for New York’s current Diet Coke drought, but the political irony is hard to miss.
President Donald Trump, whose administration is a party to the ongoing conflict with Iran, is also perhaps the world’s most famous Diet Coke devotee, famously keeping a “Diet Coke Button” on his Resolute Desk to summon the soda.
Now some of his fellow New Yorkers are facing a daunting decision of their own: Do they settle for Pepsi?
New Yorkers are tough, but apparently that is where they draw the line.
Coca-Cola, Amazon, and FreshDirect did not respond to The Post’s requests for comment.
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