Over the past 15 years, Coca-Cola in Portugal has managed to reduce the amount of sugar per liter of total beverage sales by 23,5%, and by 5,6% last year compared to 2015.
On the other hand, the company's sugar-free or calorie-free beverages in the country accounted for 19% in 2016. "These figures are the result of Coca-Cola's efforts in Portugal to adapt to the current preferences of the population, allowing it to offer new product varieties that make it easier to choose the beverage that best suits each person's needs and lifestyles," the company said in a statement.
Specifically for Coca-Cola brand soft drinks, Coca-Cola Zero and Coca-Cola Light, with their varieties Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Coca-Cola Light Sugar-Free, and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Caffeine-Free, already represent 23% of total sales in this segment in the national market.
According to various surveys on food consumption, non-alcoholic beverages currently account for approximately 4,7% of the total sugar intake of Portuguese consumers, with 95,3% coming from other foods. Regarding the sugar content of Coca-Cola products in the Portuguese diet, in 2016 their contribution was 7,87 grams of sugar per 100 milliliters and 31,5 kilocalories per 100 milliliters, respectively.
“In recent years, Coca-Cola in Portugal has been implementing an ambitious diversification process to adapt to the needs and demands of citizens. The company has made a considerable effort in innovation and in disseminating nutritional information about all its beverages, which allows the new sugar-free drinks to represent a real choice,” it adds.
