If you have ever wandered to the fridge at 3 p.m. for a cold Diet Coke and called it a break, you have been taking a “fridge cigarette.” And the man running Coca-Cola says that is perfectly fine with him, up to a point.

The New York Post reports that CEO Henrique Braun is comfortable with young Americans using the viral nickname for their midday soda.

Gen Z’s Joke About Trading A Smoke Break For A Soda

Younger people use the phrase to compare two office rituals. Stressed-out workers used to step outside for a smoke break, and now some stop by the fridge for an afternoon soda, typically a Diet Coke, swapping a nicotine habit for caffeine.

According to Merriam-Webster, the slang term for an afternoon soda craving started in 2025 and was popularized on TikTok. It has since turned into a bit of pop culture shorthand for a certain kind of workday pause.

“Consumers Call It The Way They Want To Call It”

Asked for his thoughts on the trend, Braun stopped short of giving the nickname a full endorsement. “The nickname, uh — consumers call it the way they want to call it,” he said.

Then he drew a line. “The most important thing to us is that we don’t position Diet Coke in that way,” he told Yahoo Finance on Tuesday. “What we do is that it’s a great-tasting product which connects to the consumer in a very unique way and that’s what really, Diet Coke, it’s all about.”

He went on to say that Coca-Cola follows the consumer, and that Diet Coke is one of those brands that “continue to recruit the next generation of consumers.” The main recruiting tool, he said, is the great flavor and the brand equity the company has built.

Diet Coke Is Having A “Resurgence” And The Numbers Show It

The comments came with a strong report card. Chief Financial Officer John Murphy told CNBC on Tuesday that Diet Coke is having a “resurgence,” which helped boost Coca-Cola’s earnings. “It’s a brand that’s almost reinventing itself with the next generation of consumers,” he said.

In the third quarter, Braun, who took the helm at Coca-Cola in March, said both Diet Coke and Coca-Cola Zero, another sugarless offering, grew their volume by double digits in North America.

Overall volume in North America, the company’s home market, was flat. Murphy said it would have grown if not for the timing of the Fourth of July holiday, which fell before the latest quarter, and a prolonged shortage of its Topo Chico sparkling water brand.

A Third Straight Raise, And Beating Wall Street’s Guess

Coca-Cola on Tuesday raised its annual forecast for the third straight quarter. It now expects comparable earnings per share to grow at least 11%, up from a prior forecast of 9% to 10% growth. It also predicted organic revenue growth of at least 5%, slightly better than a previous forecast of roughly 5%.

The company reported adjusted earnings per share of 91 cents in the third quarter, above expectations of 88 cents. Revenue came in at $13.4 billion, beating estimates of $12.92 billion.

Braun told Yahoo Finance that the company is “really excited about the prospects of growth.”

From Intern To The Top Job

Braun’s own story has a nostalgic ring. He previously served as Coca-Cola’s chief operating officer and president of international development. He started with the company nearly 30 years ago as an intern, or what Coca-Cola then referred to as a trainee.

It is a neat full-circle moment. The intern who once carried the title of trainee now answers questions about slang that was born on TikTok, and he handles it with the calm of someone who has seen a few trends come and go.

What This Says About Brands, Slang And Your Own Soda Habit

There is a lesson here for anyone who remembers when Diet Coke arrived in the grocery aisle and became a status symbol of its own. Brands do not control the nicknames people invent. They can only decide which ones to adopt, and Coca-Cola has decided to let this one roll without pushing it.

That is a smart move for an old brand talking to a young crowd. Slang that comes from the customers feels real, while slang that arrives from a marketing department tends to make everyone cringe. Braun’s answer, that the focus stays on flavor, keeps the company out of the joke while still benefiting from the buzz.

It is also worth asking what your own afternoon routine is doing for you. If a cold soda is your reset button, there is nothing wrong with enjoying one, but pairing it with a short walk, a glass of water or a few minutes away from the screen can make the pause work harder. The fridge trip is really a small break, and breaks are good for us.

For fans of nostalgia, the bigger story is how a drink many people grew up with keeps finding new audiences. A silver can that once meant the 1980s now shows up in a viral joke from a generation that was not even born yet, and that kind of staying power is the envy of every brand on the shelf.

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