Editors' pick: Originally published Oct. 17.
PepsiCo (PEP) is doing its darndest to shed the image that it's all about the sugar.
The beverage and snack giant announced Monday that by 2025 at least two-thirds of its drinks will have 100 calories or fewer from added sugar per 12-ounce serving, up from about 40% currently. The new global target, said PepsiCo, is more ambitious than its prior goal of reducing sugar by 25% in select drinks in certain markets by 2020. The news from PepsiCo comes on the heels of the World Health Organization recommending this month that countries enact taxes on sugary drinks. It also arrives before Philadelphia's highly publicized 1.5 cents per count tax on sugar-added and artificially sweetened soft drinks goes into effect on Jan. 1.
Rival Coca-Cola (KO) has said that by 2020 it would sell low-calorie or no-calorie options in every market.
For Pepsi and Coke, the fight against sugar has taken on several forms of late.
Both Coke and Pepsi have found success selling 7.5 ounce drinks -- aka "mini cans" -- to shoppers that boast lower amounts of sugar because of the smaller sizes. Additionally, each company has also ventured more and more into the cold-pressed juice and low-calorie sparkling beverage markets. And at PepsiCo specifically, its Frito-Lay snacks division has found success by focusing on lower-calorie chips, which has helped to offset sluggish sales of full-calorie soda and diet colas.
