Dive Brief:
- Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc., the world's largest Coca-Cola bottler, announced that it would reduce calories per liter by 10% by 2020.
- The company is advocating to the three million people in the regions where it operates that they should be more physically active to improve health in that way as well.
- Coca-Cola Enterprises is making a push for a healthier image as consumers reject soda and other less healthy processed foods. Sales for soda have fallen every year for the past decade.
Dive Insight:
In the past, soda companies may have responded to consumers' health concerns by bolstering marketing and production of diet sodas or varieties like Crystal Pepsi, a purportedly healthier soda that PepsiCo may reintroduce in the future. However, diet soda sales are falling as is the soda industry as a whole, including Pepsi overtaking Diet Coke for the No. 2 soda spot earlier this year. Cutting calories from the core of its operations is one way Coca-Cola Enterprises can respond to changing consumer preferences and attempt to lure back consumers who have moved on to other healthier options like bottled water and ready-to-drink tea.
Another common health strategy for food companies as of late has been to remove artificial ingredients, such as flavorings and colors, from their products. Nestle recently announced it would remove all artificial flavorings from its frozen pizza products by the end of the year, and in April, Kraft Foods Group announced that its flagship macaroni and cheese product will no longer contain artificial colors and preservatives beginning in early 2016.