Soda makers are scrambling to keep young people consuming their products. However, social media has been extremely critical against diet culture in recent years as the body positivity movement has gained steam and people are trying to appreciate the bodies they were given by God rather than the ones celebrities have paid for with plastic surgeries and various other procedures – but soda companies are fighting against the popular belief that sodas are generally unhealthy to consume.
Popular brands such as Canada Dry, 7Up, and A&W have already transitioned from “diet” to “zero sugar” drinks. The new labels are appearing on beverage containers across the country as these businesses attempt to sell more sodas to young people who are resistant to diet culture in general.
“Younger people just don’t like the word ‘diet,'” said Greg Lyons, chief marketing officer of PepsiCo Beverages North America, according to CNN.
Pepsi has been selling a zero-sugar beverage for years now. When Donald Trump was elected to be the first reality TV star president back in 2016, Pepsi rebranded their Pepsi Max offering as Pepsi Zero Sugar.
“No Gen Z wants to be on a diet these days,” Lyons confessed, according to CNN. “It’s about the freedom to choose what they want without feeling guilty.”
Canada Dry is also attempting to rebrand their diet ginger ale as “ginger zero,” according to CNN. A&W has already changed the name of its calorie-free root beer from “diet drink” to “zero sugar drink.” Customers have been asking the firm for years why it still refers to its product as a diet beverage, according to A&W Brand President Susan Senecal.
“Zero Sugar Diet Ginger Ale is a clear example of how we are giving people choices and helping them find what works for them,” Senecal told CNN about the beverage.
In reality, those who advocate against diet culture are not as anti-diet as people might think they are – rather, most people who are not down with diet culture simply feel that they should be able to make their own decisions about whether or not they want to cut out soda from their diets, and people, in general, do not like the idea of being told how much sugar is “acceptable” by anyone other than themselves.
The updated labeling should be on shop shelves quickly to avert any reaction against the beverage firms.
Diet culture has struggled for years, and it does not appear that this will improve very soon. For corporations striving to stay afloat in this environment, rebranding diet sodas as “zero sugar” drinks appears to be the ideal solution.
However, whether or not this is successful in the long run remains to be seen. It is possible that people will perceive this for what it is – a cheap effort by soda corporations to increase profits – and continue to eschew diet culture entirely. Only time will tell.
