Companies Are Stripping One Word Off Their Products Because Young People Are Complaining…

Soda companies are in a bit of a dilemma – how can they appeal to younger consumers who are averse to diet culture while also selling their beverages? The body positivity movement has gained steam, and people are trying to appreciate their bodies rather than conforming to society’s beauty standards, which have been heavily influenced by plastic surgeries and other procedures that celebrities undergo. As a result, soda companies are fighting the popular belief that sodas are unhealthy to consume and that “diet” drinks support a negative body image.

Popular brands like Canada Dry, 7Up, and A&W have already made the switch from “diet” drinks to “zero sugar” beverages. This is a way to rebrand their sodas to young people who are not fans of diet culture in general.

According to Greg Lyons, chief marketing officer at PepsiCo Beverages North America, “Younger people just don’t like the word ‘diet.’ It’s about the freedom to choose what they want without feeling guilty.” Pepsi has been selling a zero-sugar beverage for years, and when Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, Pepsi rebranded their Pepsi Max offering as Pepsi Zero Sugar.

Canada Dry is also attempting to rebrand its diet ginger ale as “ginger zero,” and A&W has already made the switch from calling its calorie-free root beer a “diet drink” to a “zero sugar drink.” Customers have been asking the company for years why it was still calling its product a diet beverage, according to A&W Brand President Susan Senecal.

However, those who advocate against diet culture are not completely against diets. Rather, most people who are not fans of diet culture simply feel that they should be able to make their own decisions about whether or not they want to cut out soda from their diets, and people do not like the idea of being told how much sugar is “acceptable” by anyone other than themselves.

The new labels will be appearing on beverage containers across the country soon in order to avoid any backlash against the soda companies themselves. The hope is that the new branding will appeal to younger customers and help the companies stay afloat in a society that is becoming increasingly critical of diet culture.

But whether or not this new marketing strategy will work in the long run remains to be seen. It’s possible that people will see through the rebranding as a cheap ploy to make more money and continue to avoid diet culture altogether. Only time will tell.

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Source: AWM