Coca-Cola cuts sugar in Fanta by a third
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- Published: Thursday, 25 May 2017 07:53
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Coca-Cola has quietly cut the sugar content of some of its biggest brands, including Sprite, Fanta and Dr Pepper, without sales being affected, according to the company’s chief executive. Coca-Cola said that it had not ruled out cutting the sugar content of some brands again but it has committed to keeping the Coca-Cola Classic recipe, The Times reports.
Coca-Cola has cut the sugar content of Fanta by a third, the second time that the company had cut the amount of sugar in the UK’s bestselling fruit-flavoured soft drink, with the last reduction, also by a third, being made in 2006. The drink now contains less than half the sugar of Coca-Cola Classic, the company’s bestselling brand, at 4.6 grams per 100ml compared with 10.6g. The new Fanta recipe will cut its total sugar level enough to escape the sugar tax due to be introduced next April.
The move comes after reductions to Sprite and Dr Pepper in 2013 and 2014. In each case sweeteners have been added to try to maintain the same taste. In Sprite, the company is adding stevia, a plant extract. In Fanta, the company is using acesulfame, an artificial sweetener.
James Quincey, who took over as chief executive of Coca-Cola this month, said that the changes had not cost sales. “We took some of the calories out of Sprite and consumers like Sprite now as much as they did before. Then we took 30 per cent of the calories out of Fanta to see what would happen. Again, sales seem to be continuing fine,” he told Bloomberg Businessweek.
Mr Quincey also indicated that Coca-Cola was looking at making bottles and cans smaller to help to cut sugar consumption. When asked what other changes the company was contemplating, he said: “If people are going to drink everything that’s in front of them, well, when they’ve got a smaller package, they’ll have less. That’s the sort of thing moms like for kids.”
Aedamar Howlett, of Coca-Cola Great Britain and Ireland, added: “We’ve been working hard to reduce the sugar in Fanta even further, without compromising on the taste. We’ve tested the new recipe extensively and Fanta fans have told us it’s the best Fanta taste yet.”
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