Jenny Boyter’s stash is dwindling.

Jenny Boyter, a retired school administrator from Buckhead, wears a TaB outfit at a "Save TaB" gathering outside the World of Coke on Oct. 20, 2023. She's part of a group rallying for the retired soda's return.

The Atlanta resident has just one 12-pack left of Tab β€” a diet soda that Coca-Cola canceled five years ago.

Even so, during a November interview at her home, Boyter gleefully popped the top on a can. It expired in 2021.

β€œIt’s fizzy and everything,” Boyter, a retired school principal, said as she took a sip. She wore fuchsia lipstick, earrings with tiny Tab cans and a shirt that says β€œTab, Never Forget!”

Boyter is among a group of Tab superfans, or Tabaholics, who have spent years trying to persuade Coca-Cola to bring back the soda, which is often stylized as TaB and known for its pinkish cans.

The committee, called SaveTaBSoda, is more than just a fan club. Members have gathered petition signatures, put up billboards, talked to bottlers and questioned Coca-Cola executives at annual shareholder meetings.

β€œWe’re working on it, and we’re not giving up,” said SaveTaBSoda secretary Trish Priest of Seattle.

Now, a new reason for hope has bubbled up.

In October, Coca-Cola said it is bringing back one of its retired productsβ€” Mr. Pibb, a spicy cherry soda that’s returning after nearly 25 years.

β€œThe fact that Coca-Cola is embracing flavors that have been discontinued, I think bodes well for us,” said Adam Burbach of Lincoln, Nebraska, founder and president of SaveTaBSoda. β€œWe just have to keep working to convince them that Tab deserves a second chance.”

There is no indication yet that Coca-Cola is considering it.

β€œWhile we know there is a strong fan base of Tab supporters, for now The Coca-Cola Co. is focused on bringing back the iconic Mr. Pibb,” a company spokesperson said in early November.

One beverage industry expert is skeptical Tab would come back soon. Duane Stanford, editor and publisher of trade publication Beverage Digest, said in a recent interview that’s because Diet Coke is catching on again.

β€œTo me, Diet Coke having a bit of a revival, having this renaissance, probably means that you’re not going to see anything happen with Tab anytime soon,” Stanford said. β€œBut, I wouldn’t rule it out.”

Coca-Cola launched Tab in 1963 as the beverage giant’s first diet soda. The drink was targeted at women, with slogans pitching it β€œfor beautiful people.”

β€œIt was really marketed as an extension of one’s personality,” Burbach said. β€œβ€˜Tab’s Got Sass’ was one of the marketing campaigns. It showed you as a unique individual who was hip and cool if you drank Tab. I think a lot of people took that to heart.”

Tab’s market share peaked at 5.6% in 1980 among all soda drinks in the United States, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported, citing data from Beverage Digest. The soda became a cultural icon, mentioned in movies such as 1985’s β€œBack to the Future.”

But things had started going flat when Coca-Cola introduced Diet Coke in 1982. Sales of Tab dropped, and in 2020, Coca-Cola killed the brand as part of a broader effort to trim its portfolio during the COVID-19 pandemic.

β€œI was devastated about it,” Burbach said. He looked online for forlorn fans, soon buying a domain name and putting up a website. β€œI thought this might be a time for us to organize ourselves and come from a united front.”

Tab fans say nothing else tastes like it, making it difficult to find a replacement. β€œIt’s a little spicy,” Boyter said. β€œIt’s a little kicky. It’s not super sweet.”

SaveTaBSoda has met online regularly since 2020 and has gathered more than 8,000 signatures on a petition calling for Tab’s return.

In 2023, in honor of the 60th anniversary of Tab’s creation, they held a gathering at the World of Coca-Cola in downtown Atlanta, bringing together fans from around the country. Coca-Cola sent over a representative to collect a β€œlarge bag” of Tab 60th birthday cards that fans wrote, Burbach said.

This October, the group spent nearly $7,000 on a billboard near the Coca-Cola headquarters in Atlanta and a press release to promote it, Burbach said. The money was raised through fundraising from Tab fans and supporters, he said.

The billboard says, β€œBring Tab Back. Never say never!”

The message was a nod to a comment Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey made earlier this year.

SaveTaBSoda member Missie Pierce of metro Atlanta owns Coca-Cola stock. Her husband submitted a question to this year’s shareholder meeting, asking if Coca-Cola would consider bringing back retired brands like Tab.

Quincey answered.

β€œYou’re not the first person to have asked me this question over the years, and I guess I should use one of my favorite sayings, which is β€˜Never say never,’” Quincey said at the April meeting, according to a recording provided by Pierce.

Tab fans want Coca-Cola to at least consider a limited production. The company, for example, recently brought back Retro Diet Coke Lime for a short run.

More than a decade ago, Coca-Cola also brought back Surge after a push by devoted fans, according to a report from CNBC.

β€œTab is a sure thing,” Priest, SaveTaBSoda’s secretary, said. β€œThey bring it back for a limited run, and we will buy it out.”

Pierce added, β€œWe would stockpile again. We would buy all we could get our hands on.”

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