* PepsiCo is "very close" to sweetener breakthrough
* Says key is sweeteners plus flavor modifiers
reuters.com
NEW YORK Dec 13 (Reuters) - PepsiCo Inc (PEP.N) is "very close" to a finding a new way to make sweeteners used in low calorie drinks taste very good, its chief executive said on Monday.
"We want to be out there with a product that is outstanding, not one that is just good," said Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi at a conference hosted by Beverage Digest. "We are very close."
Nooyi said a breakthrough would involve not only sweeteners, but ingredients that enhance or cut the flavor of those sweeteners.
Doug Tough, chief executive of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (IFF.N), said flavor enhancers are "in a word -- extremely important" to the industry now.
PepsiCo already sells Trop 50, a lower-calorie version of Tropicana juice, and a zero-calorie SoBe Lifewater drink, made with a natural zero-calorie sweetener.
Good-tasting, natural, low-calorie sweeteners are seen as a holy grail for the soft drink industry, especially as it comes under fire by critics who say sweetened drinks contribute to the growing obesity epidemic in the United States.
In August, PepsiCo signed a four-year deal with Senomyx Inc (SNMX.O) for the development of sweeteners. Coca-Cola signed a similar deal with Chromocell Corp earlier this week. (Reporting by Martinne Geller, editing by Dave Zimmerman) |
