PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP) is launching a reduced-calorie soda in Australia that uses stevia, marking the first time the beverage maker is using the natural sweetener in its namesake cola, reports The Associated Press.
The world's No. 2 soda company says that Pepsi Next in Australia has 30 percent fewer calories than regular Pepsi.
The rollout follows the launch of Pepsi Next in the U.S. earlier this year. Rather than stevia, that cola has a mix of artificial sweeteners and high fructose corn syrup. The beverage has about half the calories of a regular Pepsi, at 60 calories per can.
As reported previously in the Atlanta Business Chronicle, Atlanta-based The Coca-Cola Co., (NYSE: KO) and New York- based Pepsi, are racing to find the elusive soft drink ‘sweet spot’: a soft drink with no calories, no artificial sweeteners and no funny aftertaste.
Such a combination - the companies hope - would silence health concerns about soda and reverse the decline in consumption of carbonated drinks, an NBC News report said in July, adding that such a formula could still be years away.
NBC said that a natural sweetener getting major attention is stevia.
The product is used in orange juice and bottled teas, but stevia’s aftertaste is harder to hide in colas, the network explained.
Coca-Cola told NBC it is testing additional drinks that use stevia and other natural sweeteners, but declined to give details.
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