The new aspartame-sweetened drink, called “Diet Pepsi Classic Sweetener Blend”, will hit shelves in September, PepsiCo said on Monday. But further decline of 5.8% in the last 12 months has prompted PepsiCo to backtrack, and reintroduce the original formulation, which contained aspartame.
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Pepsi MAX will be re-introduced to USA consumers in fall 2016 as Pepsi Zero Sugar and will contain aspartame.
The company said it would continue to sell sucralose-sweetened Diet Pepsi, which was launched past year after ditching the aspartame version. Those who avoided acesulfame potassium, another artificial diet sweetener commonly known as Ace K, jumped to 28% from 13%.
By changing the name of Pepsi Max, PepsiCo hopes to mimic the success of Coca-Cola Zero, Coke’s second-largest diet cola, which has outperformed other diet brands.
PepsiCo’s replacement of the sweetener from Diet Pepsi tested the theory that it was to blame for fleeing customers, but the plan seems to have backfired.
Diet Pepsi brings back the “classic” formula with aspartame..
Diet Coke, which stuck with aspartame, saw volume decline a more moderate 5.7 percent.
“Consumers want choice in diet colas, so we’re refreshing our USA line-up to provide three options that meet differing needs and taste preferences”, said PepsiCo spokesperson Gina Anderson.
The shares were down 0.6 per cent to US$101.38 (RM416.63) at 7.45am in early trading in NY.
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PepsiCo said in April previous year that it would no longer use aspartame, which has fallen out of favor with many health-conscious consumers.
