Coca-Cola UK has earmarked £10m to reformulate and rebrand its Coke Zero product as part of its efforts to minimize sugar content in its drinks.
The move comes after a survey revealed that only five in 10 people could recognize that Coke Zero product was sugar-free.
The company's efforts mark the latest example of the efforts of drinks manufacturers to adapt to the sugar tax ahead of its implementation in 2018.
With falling profits due to changing consumer preferences and new legislation, sugary drinks makers need to explore ways to maintain their bottomlines.
InfinityQS Europe general manager Martyn Gill said: "Reducing container overfill is one of the most significant ways that beverage manufacturers can use data to streamline processes.
"Because of regulatory requirements, organisations are afraid to under-fill a can or bottle. So they intentionally overfill to avoid regulatory fines or consumer backlash. Intentionally overfilling containers negatively impacts profits. If processes are tightly controlled, product giveaway becomes unnecessary.
Implementing enterprise quality management systems to establish transparency in the enterprise and across the supply chain, drinks manufacturers and their suppliers can improve the efficiency of processes and cut costs, according to the company.
The quality management systems will also allow both the parties to achieve profitability without necessarily burdening the consumers by passing on the costs of sugar tax.
He also added: "In addition to improving processes within their own plants to recoup costs, beverage manufacturers must look to collaborate with suppliers and control processes throughout their supply chain.
"Using cloud-based technology, an enterprise quality management solution provides supply chain-wide visibility. That means drinks companies can connect with their suppliers, packaging companies, other partners to identify where they can realise additional savings during production processes.
"Once quality data are collected and made available in the system, it is easy to analyse those data values and identify where savings can be made. Sometimes small changes can save millions. For example, when packaging companies reduce the weight of a can or bottle by a fraction of a gram, it can translate into big savings."
