PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP)’s Diet Pepsi, produced without aspartame, is ready to hit the United States market next week, indicating the biggest alteration made to the drink in three decades. Sales of Diet Pepsi have been declining due to increasing criticism on the controversial sweetener added in the beverage.
A senior vice president at Pepsi, Seth Kaufman said the mouthfeel had to match customers’ expectations when they buy that silver can. Kaufman added that keeping the taste almost unchanged was not easy.
The latest recipe for Diet Pepsi substitutes aspartame with a mixture of acesulfame potassium and sucralose. The decision follows a decline of 5.2 percent in Diet Pepsi’s sales volume in 2014. Coca-Cola’s Diet Coke sales also plummeted 6.6 percent, though the company has no plans to eliminate aspartame from the drink.
Kaufman refused to comment when asked whether the new Diet Pepsi can attract consumers who are fan of Diet Coke, however, are looking for a soda free of aspartame.
Acesulfame potassium was first authorize for food way back in 1988 and is included in beverages like Coke Zero that also has some aspartame. Sucralose was approved in 1998 and is marketed as Splenda and used in a type of Diet Coke. FDA has deemed the two sweeteners safe. Diet Coke having Splenda has been available in the market for a decade.
A recent survey by Gallup found that about 62 percent of people living in the U.S avoid diet soda. Just 50 percent of the respondents reported they actively stay away from sugar, while 47 percent people said they prevent fat. This shows that Soda’s headwinds in the country have gone beyond aspartame.
The concerns regarding aspartame emerged on the surface when customers started preferring natural and organic ingredients in the beverages and food. A blogger, Vani Hari says aspartame is one of the most hazardous ingredients permitted in food supply.
