CNBC: PepsiCo Pledges to Slash Beverage Calorie Counts by 2025

PepsiCo is planning on making big progress in reducing sugar in beverages in the next decade. According to a recent CNBC article, PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi announced a new sustainability initiative that includes significantly reducing the calorie count of the company’s drinks by 2025.

As consumer preferences changes, the company is trying to respond to the health concerns of sugar-sweetened beverages as well as the efforts by many communities to tax sugary beverages to fight obesity. In addition, the company plans to redouble water efficiency.

PepsiCo says that two-thirds of the company’s drink will have 100 calories or less per 12-ounce serving in as little as nine years. It is a big promise seeing as the brand makes more than $1 billion annually from its signature Pepsi soda.

"Over the last decade, we have made progress in reducing sugar," PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi told CNBC. "But there's a lot more we needed to do because countries which loved sugar were growing faster than countries which were consuming lower-sugar products."

The company will also have to consider changes to its products outside of soda, which include ready-to-drink coffee, iced tea products, flavored sparkling water, juices, and Gatorade drinks.