7-Up to introduce low-carb soda
By William Spain, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 2:45 PM ET Aug. 16, 2004


CHICAGO (CBS.MW) -- Not to be left behind by its cola competitors, 7-Up will launch a soda with a fraction of the carbohydrates of its regular pop while throwing in extra calcium and vitamin C to boot.

The company, a unit of Cadbury Schweppes (CSG: news, chart, profile), plans to roll out 7-Up Plus at its annual bottlers meeting Monday afternoon in Dallas, 7-Up said in a written statement.

The new product, set for launch at the end of the month, is aimed at women and will contain fruit juice, calcium, vitamin C and the artificial sweetener Splenda. The company said it is the first carbonated beverage from a major brand to contain actual nutrients.

7-Up Plus will contain 10 calories and two grams of carbs per serving, versus 100 calories and 26 grams for the regular stuff.

The company said it plans a major TV advertising campaign to back the brand, featuring Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa along with "Sex and the City" stars Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis.

The new "Uncola" offering will join low-carb sodas that Coca-Cola (KO: news, chart, profile) and PepsiCo (PEP: news, chart, profile) have introduced this year.

Cadbury Schweppes shares were up 22 cents to $32.61 in afternoon trading Monday.

Okay, now that's a pop I can drink. Much better than the half-baked ideas that Coke and Pepsi came up with. Can low-carb ginger ale be far behind? I hope not.

I love the coke C2, it taste just like regular coke. but with a hint of vanilla. And no after taste. Its wonderful. I can't wait to taste the New LC 7-up and I am also going to try the new Pepsi edge. I am sure they will both taste good. Much better than regular diet soda and won't be bad for your health like regular diet soda is.

I was looking at C2 yesterday in the grocery store, as it finally made it to our market. I was surprised it still had Aspertame in it. I had thought it was a splenda based one. Not that I'd want to waste 10-15 grams of carbs for a can of pop drinking it.

The new C2 coke is a joke; its the worst of both worlds, too much sugar and sweetened with aspartame? Whats the point.

The only lowcarbers drinking C2 are those who don't read the label. I agree with Nudizzle that it is a joke. It epitomizes a "low carb" product which cannot sell (because it is not LC in any way, shape or form).

I agree with you guys, C2 is junk. half the sugar is still WAY too much sugar. ANY sugar at all is too much sugar. I still can't believe these two huge companies, with their multi-million dollar marketing budgets, were that dumb.

The good news is that these products are dead on arrival, so to speak.

The really surreal thing now is the articles blaming the slow sales for this half baked sugar water on a supposed decline in low carb dieting. I guess they didn't count on an educated population thinking for themselves, did they?

I was just up in Newfoundland, and they had Orange Crush made with Splenda....

Why isn't that everywhere?

I have never seen Diet Rite in Canada unfortunately. I was able to get the diet crush orange and creme soda while I was in Ottawa, but I can't find it here in Nova Scotia unfortunately.

Well, since I'm not trying to bed anyone down, I think I'll continue being judgemental.

Aspertame is a defacto poison. the only thing I can think of thats worse that we commonly eat is... sugar! So lets put them both in the same product and sell it to the public and see if we can't just increase our market share a tenth of a point or so. Believe me, if coke could effectively market nuclear waste they be forcing it down our thoats with a gyrating brittany spears in a radiation suit (not covering her belly button of course), telling us in bated breath about the potential benefits of a contralled carb lifesyle. (So long as the fines from the environmental regulatory commission didn't outweigh the profit margin.)

If I seem angry or judgemental, its because I am. When I read the label, I couldn't believe it, I just thought of all the people that maybe didn't know any better drinking this crap by the case and wondering why the diet 'isn't working' for them, and giving up all together. The swill that is packaged under the name 'C2' isn't appropriate for any stage of a LC diet, nor is it appropriate for any stage of any diet. In all honesty, I think that a regular coke is probably better for you.

The more I think about it, I can't think of any reason other than pure profit that we even use Sugar/Corn Syrups for sweetening purposes. Sugar has a few functional uses [Feeding Yeast and Preserving Cured Meats,] but only in small amounts. Corn Syrups have no functional uses beyond those found in straight Sugar. All of the properties of Sugar other than the ability to feed yeast and caramelize can be easily be done with other non-caloric and extremelly low-caloric sweeteners: Stevia, Erythritol, Inulin, etc...

Sugar is a natural substance, and aything else is unnatural, and can never truely be good for your body. To live a sugar free lifestyle is a choice for me, because of my wieght. But sugar is not the problem it the way it has been abused that is the issue. I am not against anything natural, but I do choose not to use sugar. As a means to help control my wieght and my health.

Actually, Stevia, Erythritol, and Inulin are also Natural.

http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/rw.../sweeteners.htm

Inulin is a natural Soluble Fiber naturally present in Chicory Roots and other plants. Because Inulin (FOS) feeds Bacteria in the Guts, intake needs to be limited to avoid flatulence. Erythritol is derived from Corn, and is about 70% as sweet as Sugar, but only has 0.2 kcal/g versus 3.9 kcal/g for Sugar...because most of it is absorbed in the Large Intestine and excreted unchanged. Stevia is derived from the leaves of the Herb Stevia Rebaudiana Bertoni, and is a very potent sweetener. 1 tsp of the refined white powder can easily replace upwards of 1 cup of Sugar. Its a bit more expensive right now, but that's because it isn't grown very widely in the US and there isn't enough market for it without FDA Approval as a sweetener. If they could use it as a sweetener, they could start crops all over the US and the price would surely decline somewhat.

Stevia can replace Sugar in virtually any application where its used solely as a sweetener. Eryhtritol can be used where Bulk is needed or for extending Shelf-Life of Baked Goods. It also has other properties similar to Sugar.