Coca-Cola to launch soda sweetened solely by stevia

'Coca-Cola Stevia No Sugar' will be 100% sweetened with a sweetener derived from the stevia leaf, promising a flavor profile closer to sugar without a bitter aftertaste due to the specific steviol glycoside used in the formulation. The new product will be rolled out in the first half of 2018 in "a to-be-announced market outside the United States," the company said. While Coca-Cola is already using stevia in Coca-Cola Life, it is blended with cane sugar. This results in around 35% fewer calories than Coca-Cola Classic. Coca-Cola Stevia No Sugar, however, will be sweetened with stevia alone. Revamping beverage portfolio CEO James Quincey said the company is looking to renovate its portfolio through new product launches as well as “bolt-on acquisitions” such as its purchase of premium water brand Topo Chico last month. Part of its new product launch strategy is to become more agile and cut down product development cycles, which has held the company back in the past, according to Quincey. "It [new product launches] took a long time and you did relatively few of them, and you bet big on whether it would work or not," Quincey said during the presentation. "The future is not going to work like that. We must be much more agile, get things to market quicker, maybe smaller, test, learn ... Speed and not waiting for everything is one of the things we've been trying to do." ‘Clean, sugar-like sweetness’ For “Coca-Cola Stevia No Sugar”, the company has worked with Pure Circle on a joint development and supply agreement for Reb M – a steviol glycoside that imparts a “a clean, sugar-like sweetness” compared to previous forms of stevia used by the company. “Facing global pressure on sugar and obesity, the beverage industry has long sought a naturally-sourced zero-calorie sweetener that tastes great in carbonated soft drinks, including colas,” Pure Circle CEO, Maga Malsagov, said in an email sent to employees. “We are pleased that Coke will start testing this [Coca-Cola Stevia No Sugar] new product next year.”

Coca-Cola to launch soda sweetened solely by stevia

Coca-Cola will pilot a new Coca-Cola drink sweetened solely with stevia, it announced during its investor day at its Atlanta, Georgia, headquarters.

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