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Gen Z hates diet sodas, but loves them with 'Zero Sugar' branding
Gen Z consumers favored 'Zero Sugar' labels over 'Diet' in a blind taste test pitting Pepsi Zero Sugar against Coca-Cola Zero Sugar last year.
On the revived tour, Pepsi matched Pepsi Zero Sugar against Coca‑Cola Zero Sugar, omitting regular and Diet Pepsi from the test.
Industry sampling leaned into Zero Sugar variants, with Coca‑Cola displaying Coca‑Cola Zero Sugar cans at its R&D centre's anniversary, and major promotions emphasizing Zero Sugar over legacy diets.
At multiple sampling locations, sampling events on the Pepsi Challenge tour illustrate wide testing while Statista reports the sparkling water industry now generates around $328 billion annually.
Growing non‑sugared categories suggest marketing shifts toward emphasizing Zero Sugar variants, with PepsiCo and The Coca‑Cola Company highlighting these in promotions, signaling a branding change.
Sampling experiments testing names suggest that beverage companies may shift from legacy 'Diet' labels toward 'Zero Sugar' as industry revenues near $4.2 trillion, according to Statista.