Sales of diet drinks such as Diet Pepsi, Diet Coke, Diet Dr. Pepper, and Fanta Zero have been on the decline for quite some time and industry executives are blaming it on aspartame. Based on customer feedback, consumers claim to be ceasing purchasing or minimizing their purchasing of diet drinks due to their aspartame content.
In reaction, PepsiCo has reformulated its diet soda product. PepsiCo has announced that it will discontinue using aspartame in its Diet Pepsi and introduce a new formula, in which aspartame has been replaced with another artificial sweetener that is known to be less controversial.
The new Diet Pepsi will be unveiled nationwide this week, putting executives’ theory to the test to determine whether aspartame is to blame for declining sales. Diet Pepsi will be launched in stores with customer samples and special discounts available in many areas. Although the formula has been changed, company representatives claim previous fans will still find a familiar taste in the new formula.
In 2012, PepsiCo tried to revamp the Diet Pepsi formula in order to improve the drink. They chose to combine aspartame with another sweetener, acesulfame-potassium, in order to prevent the taste from degrading over time. This new formula features acesulfame-potassium in combination with sucralose, commonly known as “Splenda.”
Aspartame has received negative press in the past years, as it was thought to have carcinogenic effects when consumed in large amounts. However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved its usage after reviewing a 2005 European study on lab rats that refutes such claims.
Source for Today’s Article:
“Diet Pepsi drops aspartame sweetener, debuts new formula,” CBS web site, August 10, 2015; http://www.cbsnews.com/news/diet-pepsi-drops-aspartame-sweetener-debuts-new-formula/