July 17, 2025 – The debate on how to sweeten colas rages on. The nationwide focus now is to abandon high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and revert back to using cane sugar (sucrose). This “healthier” movement is complex and involves many factors including federal corn subsides for producing HFCS, the higher cost of cane sugar, and millions of dollars spent by the beverage industry to find a stable plant-based sweetener … the latter was ultimately unsuccessful. But we think the main driving force of moving away from using sugar in sodas was the customer.
After attending several national beverage conferences over recent years, the number #1 goal of soda companies responding to the uproar of their customers who demanded reduction in sugar, was to change their formulations. Over 7 years ago at the Beverage Forum held in Chicago, IL., the CEO of a leading soda company revealed in her keynote presentation that the strategy was to slowly reduce the amount of sugar each year in their soda products so to “wean” their customers off the sugary taste. She exited the company shortly after her presentation.
Rob and I continue to outreach to soda companies that Watt-Ahh would be an excellent ingredient to reduce the need for high amounts of sugar while stabilizing flavor. Our recommendation to soda fans is to make your own soda at home using a soda maker and Watt-Ahh, and you can add a moderate amount of sugar for your taste preference.