Fighting obesity : Ribena reduces sugar content

Ribena has cut 50 per cent of the sugar from the cordial as it extends its “brave” initiative to help to tackle Britain’s obesity epidemic.

Lucozade Ribena Suntory disclosed that the new reformulated Ribena products would contain 4.6g of sugar per 100ml and would go on sale in the UK this week.

The change will be made across the Ribena range, which accounts for 30 per cent of Lucozade Ribena Suntory’s total sales, from its traditional concentrate to its faster-growing, ready-to-drink products.

Suntory Group, of Japan, is a large global drinks company that bought the Lucozade and Ribena brands from Glaxosmithkline for £1.35 billion in 2014. It has built a reputation for its advanced drinks science in its home territory, which is considered to be one of the most innovative markets in the world.

Peter Harding, chief operating officer at Lucozade Ribena Suntory, said that the results of the sugar reduction had been encouraging. He said:
“We do see this as a long-term invesmtnent in the food and drink industry and no one has tried to do something as radical in formulation before.”