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Drink makers pump up for sweetener battle
Source: Agencies |
December 14, 2010, Tuesday
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THE soft drink makers who brought you the "cola wars" are gearing up to fight on another battlefield, where the secret weapons are sweeteners and "flavor enhancers."
John Sicher, editor of the trade publication "Beverage Digest," calls it the "ingredient war."
The new generation of low-calorie soft drinks will contain a sophisticated mix of natural and artificial sweeteners, with other ingredients to balance them out, industry executives said yesterday.
PepsiCo Inc, Coca-Cola Co and Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc are all experimenting with natural, low-calorie sweeteners and so-called flavor enhancers, top executives said at a conference hosted by Beverage Digest.
Pepsi is "very close" to launching new products that use a mix of sweeteners and flavor modifiers to make low-calorie drinks that taste better than ever, said Chief Executive Indra Nooyi.
"We have a lineup of products -- I can't tell you what they are or what they're going to do in the marketplace, but we are very, very close," Nooyi said.
PepsiCo already sells Trop 50, a lower-calorie version of Tropicana juice and a zero-calorie SoBe Lifewater drink, made with a zero-calorie sweetener derived from the stevia plant. But the new cadre of products could include carbonated drinks, which have so far been more difficult to make with the stevia-derived sweetener.
"We want to be out there with a product that is outstanding, not one that is just good," Nooyi said. "We are very close to it."
Nooyi said a breakthrough would involve not only sweeteners, but ingredients to balance the impact of those sweeteners. This includes making "one teaspoon of sugar taste like four" or cutting short the taste of a sweetener's flavor to prevent an aftertaste.
Good-tasting, natural, low-calorie sweeteners are seen as a Holy Grail for the soft drinks industry, especially as it comes under fire by critics who say sweetened drinks contribute to the worsening obesity epidemic in the United States.
In August, PepsiCo signed a four-year deal to develop sweeteners with Senomyx Inc and, earlier this week, Coca-Cola signed a similar deal with Chromocell Corp.
Doug Tough, chief executive of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc, said flavor enhancers are "in a word, in our judgment, extremely important" to the industry now.
"The company has significant investments in those areas and continues to do so," Tough said.
The combination of various sweeteners and enhancers made for a "phenomenal matrix with which to work," said Nooyi. "We feel optimistic. Let's keep our fingers crossed and see what happens next year."
Coke North America President Sandy Douglas said on Monday that the company's plans were confidential, but its research and development labs were "as busy as anyone in the industry." He stressed it was important to make sure ingredient innovations match up with the brand images of products.
Dr Pepper Snapple Group is also experimenting with low-calorie sweeteners and modifiers.
The company's chief executive, Larry Young, said it was easy to go 90 percent toward creating a great-tasting low-calorie product, but the final 10 percent was very difficult. He also stressed Dr Pepper would not sacrifice taste.
John Sicher, editor of the trade publication "Beverage Digest," calls it the "ingredient war."
The new generation of low-calorie soft drinks will contain a sophisticated mix of natural and artificial sweeteners, with other ingredients to balance them out, industry executives said yesterday.
PepsiCo Inc, Coca-Cola Co and Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc are all experimenting with natural, low-calorie sweeteners and so-called flavor enhancers, top executives said at a conference hosted by Beverage Digest.
Pepsi is "very close" to launching new products that use a mix of sweeteners and flavor modifiers to make low-calorie drinks that taste better than ever, said Chief Executive Indra Nooyi.
"We have a lineup of products -- I can't tell you what they are or what they're going to do in the marketplace, but we are very, very close," Nooyi said.
PepsiCo already sells Trop 50, a lower-calorie version of Tropicana juice and a zero-calorie SoBe Lifewater drink, made with a zero-calorie sweetener derived from the stevia plant. But the new cadre of products could include carbonated drinks, which have so far been more difficult to make with the stevia-derived sweetener.
"We want to be out there with a product that is outstanding, not one that is just good," Nooyi said. "We are very close to it."
Nooyi said a breakthrough would involve not only sweeteners, but ingredients to balance the impact of those sweeteners. This includes making "one teaspoon of sugar taste like four" or cutting short the taste of a sweetener's flavor to prevent an aftertaste.
Good-tasting, natural, low-calorie sweeteners are seen as a Holy Grail for the soft drinks industry, especially as it comes under fire by critics who say sweetened drinks contribute to the worsening obesity epidemic in the United States.
In August, PepsiCo signed a four-year deal to develop sweeteners with Senomyx Inc and, earlier this week, Coca-Cola signed a similar deal with Chromocell Corp.
Doug Tough, chief executive of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc, said flavor enhancers are "in a word, in our judgment, extremely important" to the industry now.
"The company has significant investments in those areas and continues to do so," Tough said.
The combination of various sweeteners and enhancers made for a "phenomenal matrix with which to work," said Nooyi. "We feel optimistic. Let's keep our fingers crossed and see what happens next year."
Coke North America President Sandy Douglas said on Monday that the company's plans were confidential, but its research and development labs were "as busy as anyone in the industry." He stressed it was important to make sure ingredient innovations match up with the brand images of products.
Dr Pepper Snapple Group is also experimenting with low-calorie sweeteners and modifiers.
The company's chief executive, Larry Young, said it was easy to go 90 percent toward creating a great-tasting low-calorie product, but the final 10 percent was very difficult. He also stressed Dr Pepper would not sacrifice taste.
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