FMCG Innovations and Trends by Sophia Nadur

When Coca-Cola GB announced on 11 June that Coca-Cola Life would launch soon, initially I thought " yeah....its about time! " (original press release: CLICK ). But then I decided to do a little digging into what was actually going to be launched in the UK and discovered something so disappointing that I had no choice but to blog about it later in the day in  The Grocer . What was it that led me to exclaim that UK consumers were being treated differently (a.k.a. worse) than consumers in Argentina ?  It was the fact that the calorie / sugar reduction offered in the Coca-Cola Life product about to launch in the UK is nothing like what was offered to Argentineans .  Judging by the nutritional info on the company's own website, Coca-Cola Life sold in Argentina contains 90 calories and 22.5g sugar per 500ml serving. Based on Coke's press release of 11/June, the Coca-Cola Life that will be sold in the UK will contain 134 calories and 33.4g sugar -...

General Mills announced recently that it was removing aspartame from Yoplait Light and that it would begin flashing on pack a “now aspartame free” - or “NAF” in my shorthand - message . See  Yoplait Light new "now aspartame free" release . Competitors may dismiss the sweetener switch as an insignificant attempt to defend declining sales due in the main to the exponential rise of Greek (style) yogurts over the past few years. The General Mills’ claim in their blog that sucralose is the “ only low-calorie sweetener that’s made from sugar ” may also attract some criticism from competitors and industry watchers alike given the fact that aspartame and sucralose are still both artificial sweeteners. General Mills’ CEO Ken Powell stated that the move was driven by greater acceptance for sucralose among consumers . I think the “now aspartame free” ("NAF") on-pack flash is a bold step by General Mills but one that is being driven by two even deeper insigh...