Do Big Soda Makers Hear Customers’ Concerns for Better Health?
November 22nd, 2006
Coca-Cola introduces a natural “high” while Pepsi hopes to get your “calm” dollars
Following a trend in consumer health consciousness, extracts from natural ingredients are finding their way into mainstream beverage products by the Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo. Both companies, however, are refraining from calling their products “natural” or from even using the names of the plant sources of their “healthy” ingredients. Are they responding to customer cries for healthier products, or are they just after those dollars lost to the energy drink makers?
What’s your best guess?
The Coca-Cola Company will introduce a product made with green tea extract, called Enviga, that they claim helps burn calories. What it most certainly does is boost your energy, metabolism and heart rate. By combining green tea extract with caffeine and sugar, company scientists claim that the drink helps increase metabolism and burn energy faster–most likely, the energy that comes directly from the sugar content of the beverage. Will it make you thin? Unlikely. Is it better for you than Coke? Probably.
Rather than add yet another energy drink to the market, PepsiCo hopes to cash in on the “calm” market, offering their new beverage to stress-concerned adults. The beverage, called NutriSoda, contains an ingredient derived from Ashwaganda, an Ayurvedic herb used for centuries in India for calming the nervous system, increasing male libido (are they cashing in on the Viagra market too?), and reducing cholesterol. The processed Ashwaganda is being called Essentra, and may find its way into other foods and beverages before too long.
Is this a sign of a more healthy future, where big processed food manufacturers are crafting products according to public demands? Or are these just gimmicks for cashing in on big money markets with pseudo health products?
As natural health finds its way into the mainstream, these are the questions we will undoubtedly continue to ask ourselves. Here’s another: How much should good health cost?
See all: bad foods,health,sensible health
