New tastier sodas are being marketed to men and women
By Candice Choi
AP Food Industry Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — When it comes to the calories in diet soda, Dr Pepper thinks 10 is the new zero.
Starting next month, the country’s No. 3 soft drink company plans to roll out 10-calorie versions of its five big biggest soda brands: 7-Up, Sunkist, Canada Dry, RC Cola and A&W Root Beer. The drinks are an
extension of its Dr Pepper Ten, which was launched last year as a better-tasting alternative for men who don’t like the image or taste of diet soda.
But the new 10-calories sodas, which were tested in select markets this year, are being marketed to both men and women.
Unlike traditional diet sodas that use only artificial sweeteners and have zero calories, Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. says its 10-calorie sweetener mix has just enough high-fructose corn syrup to overcome any reservations people might have about the weak or cloying taste of diet drinks. And by taking away most of the calories — a can of regular typically has about 150 calories — the company is washing away much of the guilt.
Dr Pepper isn’t alone in trying to redefine the image of diet soda. With soda frequently blamed for fueling obesity rates, executives at Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc. are also convinced that producing better-tasting diet sodas can reverse a steady decline in overall soda consumption that began in 1998. That’s despite the growing number of options soft drinks are competing with in the beverage aisle, such as flavored waters,
sports drinks and teas.
Larry Young, CEO of Plano, Texas-based Dr Pepper Snapple Group, is confident the new lineup of 10-calories drinks can win back soda drinkers who quit or cut back to reduce their calorie intakes. Young noted that Dr Pepper Ten has already done the same since its launch last year.
The drinks will hit shelves nationwide at select outlets in January, and the company says one of its biggest ever national ad campaigns will follow in March. Rather than singling out men, the ads for the new drinks will target both sexes and play off the theme of “Get Both.”
Already, diet sodas account for about 20 percent of Dr Pepper’s soda sales. Young said he sees that figure reaching between 40 to 50 percent in coming years.
The big question mark for the broader industry is whether a new generation of diet drinks can stem overall soda declines and ultimately boost consumption again.
At a Beverage Digest industry conference last week, PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi said she thinks a next wave of diet sodas will use a variety of sweeteners that have a range of calories, rather than all conforming to a single sweetener with zero calories as in the past.
