Posted on 02/16/2018 10:13:07 PM PST by nickcarraway
PepsiCo—which faced a consumer backlash after it pulled aspartame from Diet Pepsi in 2015—is making a full reversal and will once again use the controversial sweetner in the soda's mainstream variety.
The brand yanked aspartame in mid-2015, replacing it with with sucralose and acesulfame potassium, known as Ace-K. But the move backfired as loyalists clamored for the original formula. So in 2016, the brand brought back the aspartame version—but only in limited quantities marketed as "classic sweetener blend." It kept the aspartame-free version as its mainstream variety. But now Diet Pepsi is making the aspartame version its main variety again as part of a marketing revamp.
Beverage Digest first reported the news on Friday. A PepsiCo spokeswoman confirmed the switch to Ad Age but did not comment further. The move sets up a new chapter in the cola wars with Diet Pepsi's overhaul going head-to-head with Diet Coke, which has also undergone big changes.
Diet Coke this year introduced new flavors, packaging and an aggressive ad campaign that included a Super Bowl ad. Diet Coke has stuck with aspartame all along. And despite criticism of the sweetener by some health activists, the move has paid off. Last year, sales of Diet Pepsi's aspartame-free version dropped by 8.0% in volume, while Diet Coke fell 2.5%, Beverage Digest reported.
Diet Coke's revamp includes new flavors such as "feisty cherry," "zesty blood orange" and "ginger lime," as it seeks to gain interest from younger drinkers. Diet Pepsi will add vanilla and lime flavors in addition to its existing wild cherry variety, Beverage Digest reported. The new lineup will be marketed as "Classic Diet Pepsi Taste," and be backed with a TV ad that is part of the larger "Pepsi Generations" campaign that debuted at the Super Bowl, according to Beverage Digest. Diet Pepsi will keep the aspartame-free version but only sell it via e-commerce, according to Beverage Digest.
The move comes amid continued struggles for PepsiCo's North American Beverage unit, whse revenues fell 3 percent in the fourth quarter. On Tuesday, the same day it reported fourth quarter earnings, the company executed a round of companywide layoffs. PepsiCo stated that the layoffs cover "less than 1% of our U.S. workforce focused on corporate positions" as part of an ongoing "$5 billion productivity program." A spokeswoman declined comment when asked for the percentage of global layoffs. As of Dec. 30, PepsiCo employed 263,000 people worldwide, including 113,000 people in the U.S., according to financial filings.
PepsiCo must balance growing smaller, often healthier, startup brands with managing its big sodas like Mtn Dew and Pepsi. While in decline, sodas remain a major revenue source.
PepsiCo's playbook for 2018 includes pouring more marketing behind its established soda brands. It is also pushing a new sparkling water brand called Bubly that will be backed with advertising during the Oscars. Meanwhile, PepsiCo on Friday announced comedian Kevin Hart as the new spokesman for Mtn Dew's Kickstart variety as part of yearlong campaign that kicks off this weekend at the NBA All-Star game.
On the earnings call, PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi made her case to investors: "Let's not forget, 2015 and 2016 were very good years for North American Beverages. 2017 was a year that we would have liked to have had better performance. And now we're going into 2018 with a strong marketing calendar. So, let's wait for the year to play out."
I buy the Pepsi made with real sugar. When it is on sale, I’ll pick up a couple of 12 packs of Dr Pepper with sugar. The Pepsi and Dr Pepper are a lot cheaper than Mexican Cokes.
How’s about they sweeten the cola drinks with sugar like they used to do yet with less sugar?! Instead of 120 calories per 12 once can, they have 90 calories per 12 oz. can. They could call it Coke for non-children. When you just don’t need all that childish sugar.
You learn new things every day. I didn’t know ICP liked Faygo.
Nothing better than drinking an ice cold Coke in a glass bottle. Gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.
I drink Vernors to make me burp.
I’d rather wait a few more years before being injected with formaldehyde. That’s what aspartame breaks down into.
It’s your choice. Aspartame is a healthy choice for millions of people without harm.
I drink maybe one or two sodas a year. I used to have to have my daily Coca-Cola — until they changed to New Coke and tried to re-intro Coke Classic.
It was never the same.
The fizz used to last for hours after opening. The last few I had went flat in minutes.
Nature good-science bad, EXCEPT-sugar bad, chemicals good??
I’ve been eating aspartame for years. It’s been key to improving my health.
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You must be an exception. Ignorance is bliss.
I wouldn’t touch the stuff.
These fake sugars are true neurotoxins. Who the HELL wants to end life with Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s?? If you have to drink soda, stick with sugar.
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You make an excellent point.
Hard to see the benefits to society of diet drinks - all I see is fatter and fatter people drinking them.
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You’re right.
I’m sure we’ve all seen people “super size” their hamburger order and then order a diet coke.
Nothing better than drinking an ice cold Coke in a glass bottle. Gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.
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With some peanuts.
I haven’t had any kind of soda in a few years but fondly remember those ice cold Cokes in the bottle.
Honduras too. All my trips there saw coke sold in bottles and purchased by the case in wooden crates in original, returnable glass bottles......
I'm glad you mentioned that because I could never figure out why coke down there tasted so much better than here.
I agree. No one should touch aspartame, sucralose, or any of them. Xylitol or stevia if you are desperate for something sickly sweet anyway. Fake sugars do not help you. You are lied to if you think it helps for weight loss, it doesn’t. It keeps your craving for sugary taste intact. It doesn’t help against diabetes either because sugary tastes mess with the pancreas too, and the side effects are as bad as diabetes.
Healthiest choice: learn to drink drinks without sweetness.
Next healthiest, add natural sweetness to your drinks: fruit juice sweetened bubbly water, or a dairy in your coffee or tea. Get used to a lot less sweetness.
I quit sodas and now drink Perrier, it’s got the right amount of carbonation for me.
That is good for you! I never liked sodas so I have really good bone density somehow even though I have a pit tumor that affects density.
Perrier has a lot. I like San Pellegrino, less carbonation, and even better, a Swiss one you can’t buy here called Pasugger. But mostly I just drink inferior American min water. Trusting that it is what it says.
Ignorance is bliss.
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You should know.
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