Fans of Vitaminwater are demanding that parent company Coca-Cola drops a new formula that uses low calorie natural sweetener stevia. Coca-Cola changed the formula for its full-calorie Vitaminwater in May, and the new bottles have been hitting shelves ever since.
Previously, the drinks were sweetened with a mix of crystalline fructose and sugar. Now they are sweetened with a mix of sugar and stevia, a natural sweetener companies use to reduce the sugar content in drinks. However, the new Vitaminwater still has the same 120 calories per bottle and the drink now also contains one gram less of sugar.
The new version entered the US market this spring and the original recipe is slowly being phased out. The change has prompted fans of the drink to swamp Vitaminwater's Facebook page with complaints about the taste, and demands that the company bring back the old formula.
Fan Martha Geisler was one of the many to post a comment on the Facebook site. “I used to drink the Power C Vitaminwater every day,” she stated. “Now that you have changed to Stevia I will no longer be buying your products. Yuck. Tastes so fake now. It’s really gross. Goodbye!”
Representatives of Vitaminwater have posted replies to some of the Facebook comments, with responses such as: “We are sorry you feel that way, but happy that you got in touch with us. We do take our fans’ feedback seriously, thank you.”
The company faced a lawsuit in 2009, filed by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), which claimed Vitaminwater misled customers by labelling its drink ‘healthy’.
Since this date the company has made moves to make the drink seem healthier. This has included actions such as the launch of Vitaminwater Zero in 2010, containing zero calories and sweetened entirely with stevia. Last year it introduced the reformulated original Vitaminater in the UK.
It also recently launched Coca-Cola Life in Great Britain, which is a lower-calorie cola with a third less sugar and a third fewer calories than regular cola. The drink is sweetened with a blend of sugar and naturally-sourced stevia leaf extract.
Last year, Vitaminwater’s sales volume in the US was down 18%, according to reports.
Coca-Cola bought Glaceau, the parent company of Vitaminwater and Smartwater, for $4.1 billion in 2007.
