The general manager of Coca-Cola for the UK and Ireland is determined that soft drinks can help the West's war on obesity.
The company has already relaunched Sprite in Ireland with 30 per cent less sugar after changing to using a natural zero-calorie sweetener made from the stevia plant. It has also launched a smaller 330ml bottle in Ireland.
Woods stated: “We don’t stand by and let the obesity epidemic happen around us. We launched diet coke 30 years ago when people were first thinking about weight.
“We are clear about what’s in our products. We are reformulating to take calories out. We said we wouldn’t market our product to under-12s, and we said we’d get more people active. We don’t buy advertising on TV where more than 35 per cent of the audience is under 12.
“Over the next three years we will reduce the calories in our soft drinks by 5 per cent – that is our commitment in Ireland.”
Though it is is difficult to reduce the calorific content of drinks without altering the taste, it is Coca-Cola's objective:
“The drinks have to taste great still. We are good at creating low and no-calorie versions of regular products.
“Coca-Cola Life is the first Coke available with the natural sweetener Stevia. We’ll see how it goes in the UK (before launching in Ireland). The research in Great Britain shows that if we can provide Coke with 30 per cent less sugar and sweeteners from natural sources then that has quite a strong appeal.”
