WATCH: Why is Coca-Cola making Canadian Coke less sweet? Jennifer Palisoc reports.
TORONTO – Coca-Cola Ltd. is changing its Canadian recipe to make its signature pop less sweet to meet consumer demands for a more calorie conscious soft drink.
The beverage giant said it is reducing the concentration of syrup in its Canadian drinks to levels of sweetness similar to that Coke has in other markets around the world.
In addition to making the product less sweet, the company said it is introducing smaller cans (310 ml down from 341 ml) and increasing the availability of “mini-cans” (222 ml) and small glass bottles (237 ml). The 591 ml plastic bottles will be reduced to 500 ml.
READ MORE: Soft drinks an increasingly hard sell to Canadian consumers
Coca-Cola Canada says the 500 ml serving will have 8 per cent fewer calories than the older version.
“These new initiatives are the latest in Coca-Cola Canada’s efforts to reduce the overall beverage calories in the Canadian diet and to provide consumers with information and resources to lead active, balanced lifestyles,” the company said in a statement.
The move comes as the company reported a steady decline in North American sales last year and consumers move away from sugary soft drinks. In Canada, the amount of pop being sold is dropping by roughly four per cent annually, according to IBIS World, a market researcher.
Tony Chapman, a marketing expert, sees this move by Coca-Cola as a cost saving measure to unify their recipe for Coke in the North American market.
“It’s a nice face they’re putting on with their quest to save calories but their food service partners are still trying to up-size you to big gulps,” said Chapman. “(Coca-Cola’s) margins are getting thinner and thinner. They’re laying off workers, trying to save on the bottom line and I think this is another move towards that.”
READ MORE: Coke, Pepsi to reduce calorie content with smaller sizes, diet drinks
And it’s not just soft drink retailers feeling the pinch from health conscious consumers. McDonald’s reported last October a sales decline of 4.1 per cent in their July-September quarter.
Although the company has said it’s making the product less sweet, it emphasized that it is not changing its original recipe.
“They have tested this a million times so they don’t make the same mistake they did in ’85,” said Chapman.
In 1985, the company introduced a reformulation called “New Coke” that immediately fizzled with consumers. The company quickly brought back its original formula with the brand “Coca-Cola Classic.”
Chapman said for years people have “always suspected Coke Classic” was sweeter in Canada and now the company is changing it.
The new calorie reduced Coke will be available in stores “over the coming weeks and months as distribution rolls-out across the country.”
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