Sierra Mist Natural, PepsiCo’s reformulated carbonated soft drink product, may indicate a swing towards the use of sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup, say two industry analysts.
PepsiCo North America Beverages said that the re-launch this week of its niche lemon-lime soda product was fuelled by growing US consumer demand for natural ingredients, with the drink now positioned as containing 'real sugar' along with no artificial ingredients or flavours, preservatives, or caffeine.
Influence on soft drink industry
“The biggest thing that stands out here is the use of natural sugar,” said Tom Vierhile, director of product launch analytics at Datamonitor.
He added that the Sierra Mist Natural launch could open the door to more formulation of other soft drink brands, encouraging them to embrace sweeteners such as cane sugar and possibly agave and stevia.
Vierhile said that the move to 'natural sugar' has been happening for some time at the high-end of the market with gourmet soft drinks, “but PepsiCo’s move suggests that the soft drink giants may soon be phasing in this change with some of their more niche-oriented product.”