- Coca-Cola launched Coke Life this year in U.K., U.S., Chile and Argentina
- Sold in a green can, its also set to hit Australian shelves in April next year
- It has a third less sugar than regular Coke and 89 calories compared to 139
- Sweetened with extract of stevia leaf, a plant native to South America
- Stevia leaf extract is 200 – 300 times sweeter than table sugar
- Already used in Sprite products in the UK, but critics say has an aftertasteÂ
- Experts voiced concerns about the marketing of the products as healthy
- Warn it still contains colouring, caffeine and phosphoric acidÂ
- Also still contains 19 per cent of our recommended daily sugar intake
Madlen Davies for MailOnline
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It’s the latest member of the Coca-Cola family designed to ease the consumer conscience.
Called Coca-Cola Life, it’s marketed as having less sugar than regular Coke but none of those artificial sweeteners that increasingly plague Diet Coke drinkers.
The new naturally sweetened drink – which contains a third less sugar and calories than regular cola – has been created amid calls for the company to do more to tackle the global obesity epidemic.
Sold in a green can or a recyclable bottle, it is already available in the UK, U.S., Chile, Argentina and is due to hit Australian shelves in April.
But critics say the product – marketed as ‘healthy’ – may do more to improve the company’s finances than the health of its consumers.Â
Scroll down for videoÂ
Coke Life only contains 290 calories compared to the Classic Coke can which has 450 calories – but critics have voiced concerns about it being marketed as ‘healthy’Â
Coke Life is sweetened with a blend of sugar and stevia leaf extract – a calorie-free sweetener which is 200- 300 times sweeter than table sugar.
A plant used for centuries by Paraguay’s Guarani Indians, it has shot from relative obscurity to being used as a key sweetener by large companies such as Coca-Cola and Danone in just a few years.
Currently, Coca-Cola Great Britain uses stevia leaf extract as a sweetener in its Sprite and Glaceau vitamin water brands, though critics have complained it has a ‘bitter aftertaste’, similar to liquorice.
A 330ml can of Coke Life contains 89 calories, compared to 139 calories in a regular can of Coca- Cola.
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Coca-Cola’s other products, Coke Zero and Diet Coke – sweetened with the artificial sweetener aspartame – contain around one calorie each.
But the company is facing a growing backlash against such artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and an increased demand for natural products.
The solution? Bring out Coke Life for the slightly more health conscious consumers out there known as ‘balance-seekers’.
Coke’s UK marketing director, Bobby Brittain, has said: ‘We know exactly who our Coke Life will appeal to.
‘It’s 20 and 30-somethings who have begun to realise they’re not completely immortal and that they do have a sense of responsibility about what they consume.’
Some health experts are sceptical about Coca-Cola’s motives and worry about the health implications of a fizzy drink marketed in ‘healthy’ green packaging.
Writing for The Conversation, Professor Sandra Jones, director of the Centre for Health and Social Research at Australian Catholic University, said: ‘While stevia is safe to consume, nutritionists have noted that simply removing some sugar and replacing it with stevia doesn’t make a drink (or food) healthy.
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