THE QUEST FOR MORE CHOICE

When you think of The Coca‑Cola Company, it’s likely the first thing that comes to mind is the iconic Coca‑Cola brand. But did you know we have over 100 brands in Europe alone, across our water, juice, coffee and soft drinks? 

Not only do we provide a wide range of drinks, in a variety of sizes, but as our consumers’ dietary preferences evolve, we are constantly looking for ways to offer even more choice. For example, since 2010 we’ve reformulated more than 280 of our drinks in Europe to contain less sugar. [MARKETS TO INCLUDE EXAMPLES OF LOCAL BRANDS] 

When taking steps to reduce sugar use, our consumers always remain at the heart of the process. That’s why we include labels on the front of our products and offer smaller portion sizes, to support sugar intake control and help consumers make informed decisions. We also focus a large portion of our marketing efforts on shining a light on our low-and no-calorie options. 

Innovation and the reformulation of our drinks is also a big part of this process. Our scientists consider all the human senses, from trying to limit changes in texture and colour to delivering the great taste people expect from our drinks. This all happens at our state-of-the-art research and development (R&D) centre in Brussels.  

Here, 85 scientists and experts from different regions undertake complex and often lengthy processes creating hundreds of new products and reformulations a year, not just across our 118 brands in Europe (each with different drink categories), but for more than two billion people across the Middle East and Africa as well. 

We’ve come a long way from when we launched the first Coca‑Cola over 135 years ago. Forty years ago, we created the first zero-calorie, great tasting drink with Coca‑Cola Diet/Light, and almost twenty years ago, we introduced Coca‑Cola Zero.  

By 2025, our ambition is for 50% of the drinks we sell in Europe to be low-and no-calorie drinks. Currently, 80% of our soft drinks in Europe have a low- or no-calorie option and almost half (45%) of our total volume in Europe is made up of low- and zero-calorie drinks, which is an increase on 2021.    

Our job is simple. Provide more choice for balanced diets, make sure our ingredients are safe and approved by leading health organisations, and above all, retain the magical taste our consumers know and love.