Costa to reduce added sugar across beverage range by 25%
The coffee shop chain announced that it will reduce added sugar across its beverage portfolio by 25% by 2020, against a January 2015 benchmark. The announcement, which coincides with the launch of its new Summer drinks menu, is part of a broader commitment by Costa to introduce healthier choices for customers.
Jane Treasure, Head of Food and Beverage Development at Costa said: “Costa always puts customers at the heart of everything we do. We’re committed to providing great tasting choices and have a long-term plan to improve the nutritional balance of our menu”.
As part of this approach Costa has introduced a number of significant changes to its summer drinks menu. This includes the nationwide rollout of no added sugar SuperDay Smoothies, constituting one of the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day.
Alongside this, Costa has introduced a number of healthier menu items. This includes the introduction of low-calorie and gluten free alternatives, trials of healthy pots and a further trial roll out of Chop’d salads. Costa also publishes the nutritional information on-shelf and on-counter for food products and provides a countertop summary card with the calorie information of its most popular drinks.
Jane Treasure said: “We already have a number of products tailored to a range of nutritional and dietary needs and have proactively removed a substantial amount of sugar across our beverage portfolio. Our added sugar reduction commitment is part of a strategy to manage our entire portfolio responsibly to ensure that we provide a nutritionally balanced mix of menu items for our customers”.
To support in meeting its target Costa has worked with an independent, external expert and created a nutritional calculator which allows the brand to assess its food and beverage products. Using this methodology Costa will review each product recipe, against a set pre-determined criteria to determine whether to delist, reformulate or provide an alternative choice for customers.
