Newest ‘healthier’ coke option
Coca Cola have launched their newest addition to the Cola family – Coca Cola No Sugar. This product is being branded as their no-nonsense sugar-free alternative that tastes almost identical to the classic Cola drink.
But wait – don’t Coca Cola already have Diet Coke, Coke Zero and their 2015 launch of Coca Cola Life? Confused? You’re not the only one!
While I commend Coca Cola for taking a step as industry leaders to make their product easier to understand for the consumer by adding ‘‘No Sugar’’ to the brand name, they have just created even more confusion due to their other ‘‘no sugar’’ and ‘‘lower sugar’’ products.
What is the difference between them, why do they have so many products of basically the same thing? I’ll attempt to untangle these products from each other to lessen the consumer confusion and give you the low down on the newest product itself.
So now to answer the burning question – How is Coca Cola No Sugar any different? The new product evolved from Coca Cola wanting to address the issue of excess sugar consumption by its consumers, but also to bring back to the fold all those consumers who had stopped drinking Coca Cola due to not liking the flavour of their sugar-free alternative products.
The Coca Cola No Sugar formula is sweetened with aspartame and acesulphame potassium (sometimes called Acesulphame-K or Ace-K) which is also what Coke Zero and Diet Coke is sweetened with.
It has gone through five years of consumer testing to make it the most similar in taste to the original Coca Cola. Lastly, this new product does not contain any preservatives which sets it apart from the other sugar-free options.
Coca Cola plan to gradually phase out Coke Zero once this new product is firmly fixed in the good books of consumers globally.
Although this new product is a step in the right direction from industry regarding reducing sugar in our food environment, we need to look at the bigger problem with our society – our obsession and constant quest for sweetness.
Our sense of taste for sweetness is thought to have evolved to allow our ancestors to choose safe foods and avoid unsafe, more bitter foraged foods. This relationship with sweetness began in a time of scarcity of sweet foods but has now grown exponentially as we find ourselves in a world of sweet abundance.
Sweet foods activate reward centres in our brains leading us to have a false sense of happiness. As a society, we need to wean ourselves off sweet tasting foods to reduce the cravings for sugar.
Even artificially sweetened foods and drinks will feed into the sweetness-craving loop meaning our brains are constantly on the quest for the next sweet or sugar hit.
Another important consideration is our teeth. Although it is a huge plus to have a reduction in sugar in this new Coca Cola drink, it does not mean the product is ‘‘good’’ for our teeth. Drinking this product will still have ramifications for our teeth as the high pH erodes the enamel which will not grow back.
It’s commendable that Coca Cola are attempting to be more socially responsible with Coca Cola No Sugar, but my feeling is s that this product is more of a marketing campaign than a crisis of conscience. I will say this though – for die hard Cola drinkers out there – it is a healthier take on the old classic.