Pepsi Expanding Distribution of Stevia Cola

Pepsi True now available in Denver, Minneapolis and Washington, following Amazon launch last fall.

January 29, 2015

PURCHASE, N.Y. – PepsiCo confirmed this week that it is starting a limited rollout of its stevia-sweetened Pepsi True in stores in Denver, Minneapolis and Washington this week after launching the reduced-calorie cola on Amazon.com last October.

According to news reports, while Pepsi is not currently planning to roll the product out nationally, the company “feels good” about initial online orders. The initial three-city launch is an opportunity for the company to better gauge consumer reaction to the new soda.

The expansion beyond online sales follows in Coke’s footsteps, which launched stevia-sweetened Coca-Cola Life in a small number of U.S. stores last August before expanding it nationally last November. The soft drink giants are hoping the zero-calorie sweetener, derived from the stevia plant, will lure back some consumers after a decade-long decline in U.S. soda sales, due to growing consumer hesitation regarding both high-calorie sweeteners like high-fructose corn syrup and artificial sweeteners like aspartame.

Pepsi True and Coca-Cola Life are both sweetened with a mix of stevia and cane sugar and both feature green-colored packaging to play up the use of natural sweeteners. Pepsi True has 40% fewer calories than regular Pepsi. It will be sold in 10-ounce cans and 12-ounce glass bottles in the three cities, in addition to the 60-calorie, 7.5-ounce cans already sold online at Amazon.com and Walmart.com. (Coca-Cola Life has 35% fewer calories than regular Coke. In addition to the 60-calorie, 8-ounce glass bottles launched last year, it is now also available in 12-ounce cans and 20-ounce bottles nationally.)

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