Sugar, sugar? Oh, honey prefers the natural one
sugary foods and beverages, and consumer resistance was boosted by a World Health Organization (WHO) report last year which said sweeteners such as aspartame could be «possibly carcinogenic, can increase risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases and do not help in weight loss».
Sugar Free sweetener maker Zydus Wellness reported a 3% year-on-year sales decline to ₹400.10 crore in the December 2023 quarter. The company's food and nutrition segment declined 5% year-on-year due to continued external headwinds in the artificial sweetener portfolio and the WHO report on non-nutritive sweeteners, ICICI Securities wrote in a report last week.
Executives said safety concerns about artificial sweeteners, especially aspartame, persist across categories.
Beverage maker Coca-Cola's no-sugar drink Coke Zero is outgrowing Diet Coke (which has aspartame), though on a smaller base, which executives said was because of the former's 'zero sugar' tagline on trademark red bottles and cans and identical taste to the original Coke. The beverage maker also doesn't advertise Diet Coke, choosing to focus on advertising flagship Coke and Coke Zero, in line with its global policy.
«Diet Coke has its share of loyal consumers and remains a strong brand, but Coke Zero has overtaken it in terms of growth,» said one of the executives.
Both Coke and Coke Zero are endorsed by various well-known actors including Jhanvi Kapoor and Tiger Shroff. In retail stores and on e-commerce platforms though, all three variants of Coca-Cola are being
