Coca-Cola Ltd., commonly known as Coke, is refurbishing and revamping its flagship product in Canada. They will make it less sweet to reduce its calorie content. The new product will be sold in stores on Tuesday and will contain less syrup concentration and has eight percent less calories. The 260-calorie Coke will now become 'only' 240 calories.
The move was caused by the rising number of consumers opting for drinks with fewer calories. They tend to buy drinks that are considered as healthier alternatives such as tea and bottled water. This is due to the growing concern of people on having a healthy lifestyle and preventing obesity.
According to Michael Samoszewski, vice-president of Coca-Cola's business unit in Canada, "[People] are looking for less calories and [more] transparency and consistency around the globe. That's the primary reason why we're doing this." He added that the company did not find any reason why the Coke in Canada is way sweeter than those sold in other countries.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that more than 4.9% or 78.6 million are obese in the United States. The rate in Canada is lower than that of the U.S. The Canadian Obesity Network says that one in four adults in Canada is obese.
With this alarming number, a lot of health enthusiasts are recommending people to shift from junk food and unhealthy foods to healthier options, which include drinking healthier drinks than soft-drinks due to their high sugar content. Fast food and soft-drink companies are aware that the number of health-conscious people is increasing as they opt to avoid their products.
However, Coca-Cola believes that if they would cut back on the sweetness of their products and reduce their calorie content, it will woo customers back to its soft-drink products. Aside from reducing its syrup, they are changing their containers into smaller ones. In the past, their soft-drinks are placed in 591 ml plastic bottles. Now, they reduced it by 15% to just 500ml. Meanwhile, their regular cans will be reduced by 14.5%.
"This seems like a very modest change that benefits consumers with fewer calories," added John Sicher, editor of trade publication Beverage Digest in Bedford Hills, N.Y. told VanCityBuzz.
