PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP) announced that it would be replacing the sweetener aspartame from Diet Pepsi. The move comes after consumer backlash over the artificial sweetener.
The company announced that it would be switching to sucralose, which is considered less controversial artificial sweetener. The change has come after it was revealed in a survey that aspartame was the biggest reason consumers were shunning diet Pepsi.
The new sweetener is a mixture of sucralose and acesulfame potassium. The new mixture will be used in Diet Pepsi beginning in August. According to PepsiCo, the new sweetener formula was developed after extensive research and testing.
The volumes of Diet Pepsi fell 5.2% last year according to industry estimates. At the same time diet, Coke’s market volume plunged by 6.6% in the period.
PepsiCo is marketing the new diet Pepsi as “aspartame-free” which can be seen as taking an aim at Diet Coke, its biggest rival in diet Cola market. In a statement, Seth Kaufman, a senior VP of PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP) said that the company was responding to the consumer demand of having an aspartame free Diet Pepsi.
It is unknown how well the gamble will prove to be. The change is likely to change the taste of Diet Pepsi. The change also comes at a time when consumers are increasingly switching to natural foods. Sucralose, however, has not come under as much fire from consumers as aspartame due to health worries.
Even as Pepsi is making the change, Coca-Cola has refused to budge on the sweetener issue. In a statement Scott Williamson, a spokesman for Coca-Cola, said that the company has no plans to change the sweetener for Diet Coke. He further insisted that all beverages offered by Coke are safe.
Kaufman refused to comment n how PepsiCo’s decision would affect Coca-Cola. Instead, he sidestepped the question by saying that his company was excited to be the first company to make the switch.
