Be it Sour or Sweet - Soda Goes Green

by erica ~ December 22, 2008

Another product has jumped onto the “Green” bandwagon. Major soda company Coca-Cola has announced Sprite Green will debut this month in New York and Chicago. How can soda be green? Well, with a touch of rebaudioside A (Reb-A), which comes from the South American stevia plant, it is the key ingredient behind Coke’s Truvia sweetener which will also be used in some of its Odwalla ultra-premium juices.

Brandweek reports that this is a major step for Coca Cola considering the tax proposal that Governor Patterson recently announced, a plan that is trying to fight obesity. Reb-A will allow the beverage giants to bypass Patterson’s proposed beverage tax for full-calorie beverages.

Coke’s bitter enemy PepsiCo, has also introduced products containing PureVia, also made from the stevia plant, such as SoBe Lifewater in three flavors (Black and Blue Berry, Fuji Apple Pear, and Yumberry Pomegranate), and a new orange juice drink called Trop50, which will contain 50% less sugar and calories than regular orange juice.

Without question, a number of other beverage distributers will probably be reformulating their existing line of drinks to compete with the other major brands. According to Brandweek, “Sprite is the seventh largest carbonated soft drink brand in the land. It sold half a billion cases in the U.S. last year, per Beverage Digest. Sprite Green will likely receive massive distribution and massive trial.”

I can picture this either going really sour or really sweet for Sprite since they play such a major role within the beverage industry but at the same time some taste testers say that this sweetener has a licorice aftertaste. As for the future imitators, it may not look as sweet for them.