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New York - Finding a can of regular Sprite in the United Kingdom is about to get difficult.
Coca-Cola says it's replacing Sprite in the country with a version that uses the sweetener stevia and has 30% fewer calories. Sprite Zero, which doesn't have any calories, will also be available.
The change by the world's biggest beverage maker is in response to a government push calling on companies to address obesity. Coca-Cola already made a similar move with Sprite in France last year.
Stevia is a sweetener extracted from a plant of the same name. Food makers have been trying to use more of the non-caloric sweetener in diet drinks and other products.
The announcement came ahead of the airing of Coca-Cola's anti-obesity TV ad in the United Kingdom. That ad first aired in the United States in January amid increasing fire over the role cold drinks play in fueling obesity rates.
Next week, for example, New York City is set to enact a first-in-the-US ban on sugary drinks bigger than 16 ounces in restaurants, movie theaters and other venues.
In the Coca-Cola ad, a narrator notes that obesity "concerns all of us." It also explains that weight gain is the result of consuming too many calories of any kind - not just soda.
A Coca-Cola spokesperson said the ad will roll out to other countries throughout the year, although she didn't yet have a list. She said the company is still exploring whether to bring the Sprite with stevia to the US.
But the company has already been experimenting with reduced-calorie versions of Sprite and Fanta that use stevia in select US markets since this summer.
Coca-Cola says it's replacing Sprite in the country with a version that uses the sweetener stevia and has 30% fewer calories. Sprite Zero, which doesn't have any calories, will also be available.
The change by the world's biggest beverage maker is in response to a government push calling on companies to address obesity. Coca-Cola already made a similar move with Sprite in France last year.
Stevia is a sweetener extracted from a plant of the same name. Food makers have been trying to use more of the non-caloric sweetener in diet drinks and other products.
The announcement came ahead of the airing of Coca-Cola's anti-obesity TV ad in the United Kingdom. That ad first aired in the United States in January amid increasing fire over the role cold drinks play in fueling obesity rates.
Next week, for example, New York City is set to enact a first-in-the-US ban on sugary drinks bigger than 16 ounces in restaurants, movie theaters and other venues.
In the Coca-Cola ad, a narrator notes that obesity "concerns all of us." It also explains that weight gain is the result of consuming too many calories of any kind - not just soda.
A Coca-Cola spokesperson said the ad will roll out to other countries throughout the year, although she didn't yet have a list. She said the company is still exploring whether to bring the Sprite with stevia to the US.
But the company has already been experimenting with reduced-calorie versions of Sprite and Fanta that use stevia in select US markets since this summer.
