As consumers are encouraged by dieticians and nutritionists to reduce sugar consumption, beverage manufacturers also are heeding this call by developing juice drinks that fit the bill.
Last year, Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo’s Tropicana brand added new varieties to its Trop50 line of better-for-you, stevia-sweetened juice drinks to entice health-conscious consumers. The Trop50 Red Orange blend of orange juice and red orange juice, which was released in May 2012, offers 50 percent less sugar and calories than 100 percent juice blends, the company says. Both Glendale, Calif.-based Nestlé’s Juicy Juice and Bethesda, Md.-based Honest Tea, a subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Co., have catered to consumer trends by releasing juice products for kids with less sugar content. Juicy Juice Fruitifuls all-natural juice drinks offer 35 percent less sugar than the brand’s regular juice lines and a full serving of fruit in each single-serve carton, the company says. Honest Tea reformulated its Honest Kids juice drinks in 2012 by removing the organic cane sugar from all five varieties of the juice line and sweetening the beverage with added juice, the company says. The juices now contain 30 to 42 percent juice, an increase of 12 to 26 percentage points, depending on the variety, and 40 calories in each 6.75-ounce pouch, it says.