Dive Brief:
- PepsiCo is working with biotech company Senomyx to create a "taste modifier" that would trick tastebuds into tasting more sugar than is actually in the soda.
- The ingredient, known as S617, has not been approved by regulators. But filings are proceeding and the product may appear in drinks in 2014.
- S617 would allow Pepsi to reduce the amount of sugar and high-fructose corn syrup used in a can of regular soda, while maintaining the same taste. S617 would not be used with sugar-free products such as Diet Pepsi.
Dive Insight:
The soda industry is hurting. We get that. But we're a little worried about this approach. First, our sense is that young people in particular increasingly find soda to be sort of repulsive. We don't see how S617 helps.
S617 could allow for more midcalorie sodas. That would be nice. Most importantly, S617 could allow PepsiCo to drop HFCS and replace it with sugar. That could make soda less nasty to health-conscious folks.
But let's stop for just a second and ask the obvious questions: Will people who worry about the health consequences of drinking soda suddenly change their minds if that soda now contains a lab-engineered ingredient designed to trick their taste buds? Won't consumers think of S617 as some sort of new monosodium glutamate? Senomyx says S617 is made from "natural" ingredients, but wasn't engineering a new stronger ingredient from a natural source how we wound up with high-fructose corn syrup in the first place?