It's all in the name...as shown by the numbers...The terms "light" and "diet" may be consumer turn-offs. Between 2016 and 2018, certain beverages that are labeled as "diet" or "light" have declined in volume, while other beverages that are zero calorie or reduced calorie (but which are not marketed as diet or light) have increased, according to Beverage Marketing's DrinkTell™ database. One possible explanation is message fatigue - i.e., consumers are still interested in maintaining body weight but are tired of guilt-inducing signals that are inferred in terms such as light and diet. |
According to DrinkTell™, this trend is not expected to persist as strongly in the next five years. For example, diet CSDs - which fell in volume by as much as 4.1% in 2016 - is expected to decline at about a 2% rate in the next four years. Ironically, however, this may be partly as a result of a change in emphasis in the brands themselves to emphasize the absence of calories (instead of emphasizing the word "diet"), such as the revamped Coca-Cola Zero Sugar. Even a prominent brand with "diet" in the name, Diet Coke, has seen innovation recently. |
