New Zealand is the first country in the world to launch
It is the very first
“The last 10 years of continuous innovation with stevia means we’re now able to deliver a delicious tasting beverage and we believe it’s the best tasting stevia sweetened cola we’ve ever made,” says Sandhya Pillay, Country Manager of
“Kiwis are innovative by nature and love to try new things. We jumped at the chance to launch
The introduction of
“Increasingly, we are seeing Kiwis wanting to consume less sugar, so we have been working hard for a number of years to develop different drinks that suit every lifestyle and occasion that still taste great."
“Stevia is 200 times sweeter than table sugar and has no kilojoules, meaning we can use much less. Our continuous innovation on stevia has allowed us to develop a delicious tasting beverage sweetened 100% from stevia.”
Balancing what Kiwis want is no simple task, says George Droumev, Technical Director of
“People still have the desire for drinks that taste good, but don’t necessarily want the sugar. They want the same taste as the drinks they grew up with, but don’t want the kilojoules. There has always been some sort of trade-off. Our task was to solve all of these challenges.”
“Our team and our partners have spent almost ten years working with stevia, a sugar alternative from a natural source - the stevia plant. It was not as simple as finding a sweetener and swapping that out for sugar. It had to have a taste that people will love.
“What is new, and a breakthrough with this beverage, is that we are using a very specific part of the stevia leaf as a sweetener that tastes great and has a clean aftertaste.”
“There aren’t too many sugar alternatives around that are derived from a natural source and we think our recipe with 100% stevia and no sugar is a big deal. We believe we’ve come up with a product that takes away the trade-offs and we’re excited for Kiwis to try it,” says Droumev.
“We’ve worked hard to meet the expectations of Kiwis and we are confident they will love the newest permanent addition to the
Coca-Cola Stevia No Sugar is available from Monday 7 May in all major and independent retailers across the country. It will replace
COCA-COLA ON SOCIAL