Coca-Cola Company will release the world’s first stevia-sweetened Coke in Argentina this week. The company announced that the stevia-sweetened Coca-Cola Life will have about half the calories of a regular coke.
The Coca-Cola Company currently already uses stevia in its Fanta Select and Vitaminwater Zero products, BeverageDaily.com, reports. Coca-Cola Life, however, will be the first of its colas to use stevia.
Rival PepsiCo launched a stevia-sweetened cola in Australia in September of 2012, but that cola only reduces sugar by 30% compared to the normal 60% reduction, BeverageDaily.com reports. At the May Sandford Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conferences PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi said stevia doesn’t work well in colas.
Mintal analyst David Turner, however, noted that sugar alternative sweeteners, including stevia, are very common in Latin America.