Functional Drinks Compass
Busy ground3 public moves, 2024 to 202611 evidence cards

Less sugar and zero sugar

Coca-Cola Zero Sugar grew 14% in 2025 while sparkling flavors fell 1%, and zeros and diets are a mid-teens share of its soft drink volume. The new Dietary Guidelines say no amount of added sugar or non-nutritive sweeteners belongs in a healthy diet, which puts the sweeteners behind zero sugar under question.

Who it is for: Soda and juice brand teams, Reformulation and R&D leads, Shoppers cutting sugar.

Open ground

Lower sugar without sweeteners

Hypothesis: the zero-sugar winners all rely on sweeteners, and the new Dietary Guidelines say no amount of non-nutritive sweeteners is part of a healthy diet. Nearly two-thirds of prebiotic sodas use them. The searches found no large brand moves toward reduced sugar without sweeteners. Gatorade Lower Sugar is the nearest example, and the source does not say how it is sweetened.

Concept sketches

Sketches drawn from public sources to start a discussion. Each one names the evidence it stands on, the claim rules it has to obey, and what would have to be true for it to work.

Small Sugar Soda

A soda sweetened with a little real sugar and no sweeteners, for shoppers who read the label.

A sparkling drink with a short ingredient list sits beside the zero-sugar colas, sweetened with a small amount of sugar and no sweeteners. Zero sugar cola grew 14% while sparkling flavors fell 1%, and the Dietary Guidelines say no amount of non-nutritive sweeteners is part of the diet they describe. The test is whether a regular soda drinker accepts the taste.

What would have to be true
  • Regular soda drinkers rate the taste close to a full-sugar soda
  • The label describes sugar only in terms the FDA defines
  • Shoppers read the sweetener line on the pack
Open question
Which brand has the trust to ask shoppers to give up sweeteners and accept some sugar?
Claim rules it touches
calling a drink "healthy" without checking the fda definition, "sugar free," "zero sugar," "no added sugar," "reduced sugar," or "low sugar" unless the product meets the defined terms, "natural" or "all natural" unless the product has nothing artificial or synthetic
Evidence
Beverage Daily; AP, via AZ Family

Sweetener Label Front

A lower sugar drink that names its sweetener on the front of the pack.

A drink brand prints the full sweetener list on the front panel, next to the sugar level. A leading sports drink has 48 grams of sugar in its original version and 75% less in its lower sugar version, and one cola maker says it is looking at the whole tool kit of sweetening options. Showing the recipe invites scrutiny of every ingredient on it.

What would have to be true
  • Shoppers prefer a named sweetener to a vague one
  • The sugar level on the front matches a defined FDA term or avoids one
  • The brand can live with the scrutiny a full list invites
Open question
Does printing the sweetener make shoppers trust the drink more, or make them look harder at it?
Claim rules it touches
"sugar free," "zero sugar," "no added sugar," "reduced sugar," or "low sugar" unless the product meets the defined terms
Evidence
AP, via Fox 9; AP, via 29News

Sugar Budget Can

A small can sized to fit inside a one-meal sugar limit.

A small can carries a printed sugar amount set against the guideline suggestion of under 10 grams of added sugar per meal. It targets shoppers who say they are buying fewer soft drinks, which was 42% in one survey. Most shoppers do not count grams, and a small can may read as less value for the money.

What would have to be true
  • The printed gram figure matches the nutrition panel
  • Shoppers pay a similar price for less drink
  • Guideline language is quoted accurately and never turned into a health promise
Open question
Would a shopper read a sugar budget on the can as help or as scolding?
Claim rules it touches
calling a drink "healthy" without checking the fda definition, "sugar free," "zero sugar," "no added sugar," "reduced sugar," or "low sugar" unless the product meets the defined terms
Evidence
AP, via AZ Family; Attest

What the record says

  • Coca-Cola Zero Sugar grew 14% for full-year 2025 and 13% in the fourth quarter, while sparkling flavors fell 1% in both periods.Beverage Daily, Feb 10th, 2026
  • Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey said zeros and diets are now a mid-teens percentage of its total soft drink volume.FoodNavigator-USA, Oct 21st, 2025
  • The 2025 to 2030 Dietary Guidelines say no amount of added sugars or non-nutritive sweeteners is part of a healthy diet, and suggest staying under 10 grams of added sugar per meal.AP, via AZ Family, Jan 7th, 2026
  • FDA finalized an updated "healthy" claim that requires a food-group amount and limits on added sugars, sodium, and saturated fat, with three years to comply; plain water now qualifies.FDA, Dec 19th, 2024
  • Gatorade Thirst Quencher carries 48 grams of sugar; Gatorade Lower Sugar, launched in March 2026, has 75% less.AP, via Fox 9, April 16th, 2026
  • Keurig Dr Pepper said all of its 2026 carbonated soft drink innovations will be offered in both regular and zero-sugar versions.FoodBev Media, Feb 19th, 2026
  • Coca-Cola said it will sell a cane-sugar Coke alongside its flagship, with Quincey saying it is looking to use "the whole tool kit of available sweetening options."AP, via 29News, July 22nd, 2025
  • In a Zappi survey of 2,000 U.S. consumers, 43% of regular soda drinkers said they would not switch to prebiotic sodas, while only 10% of diet soda drinkers ruled it out.Zappi, April 9th, 2025
  • An analysis of 108 prebiotic sodas launched from 2021 to 2025 found an average of 35 calories and 5 grams of sugar per 12-ounce can, and nearly two-thirds used non-nutritive sweeteners versus 12% of regular sodas.American Society for Nutrition, via Newswise, July 25th, 2026
  • In a May 2026 Attest survey of 1,000 U.S. adults, 42% said they bought fewer soft drinks, 51% bought more high-protein foods, and 45% reduced alcohol purchases; 14% of respondents were GLP-1 users.Attest, June 25th, 2026
  • Quincey said GLP-1 users drink less full-sugar soda but more diet soft drinks, and noted "a big shift towards protein drinks" while calling it early days.FoodNavigator-USA, Oct 21st, 2025

Public moves

  • Launched Gatorade Lower Sugar nationwide with 75% less sugar than Thirst Quencher.Gatorade, March 1st, 2026. Source
  • Announced 35-plus 2026 beverage varieties, with every carbonated soft drink innovation offered in regular and zero sugar.Keurig Dr Pepper, Feb 19th, 2026. Source
  • Confirmed a cane-sugar Coke to sit beside the flagship in the U.S. lineup.Coca-Cola, July 22nd, 2025. Source

Earlier in the category

2005

Coca-Cola launched Coke Zero aimed at men 16 to 24, and its U.S. sales rose 20% in 2009.

Zero sugar worked by tasting like the original and reaching a new buyer, which is the test for today's lower-sugar drinks. Source

Claim rules

Avoid: Calling a drink "healthy" without checking the FDA definition.FDA's final rule on the nutrient content claim "healthy" was published December 27th, 2024, took effect February 25th, 2025, and has a compliance date of February 25th, 2028. FDA describes the claim as voluntary, and a food must contain a required amount of a recommended food group and stay within limits for added sugars, saturated fat, and sodium. Source
Avoid: "sugar free," "zero sugar," "no added sugar," "reduced sugar," or "low sugar" unless the product meets the defined terms.21 CFR 101.60(c) covers sugar claims: "sugar free," "no sugar," and "zero sugar" require less than 0.5 g of sugars per reference amount and per serving, with a "not a low calorie food" or similar statement unless the food is low or reduced calorie. "No added sugar" requires that no added sugars or functionally substitutive ingredients, such as jam or concentrated fruit juice, are used, and "reduced sugar" requires at least 25 percent less sugar than a reference food. Source
Avoid: "natural" or "all natural" unless the product has nothing artificial or synthetic.FDA has not engaged in rulemaking to define "natural." Its longstanding policy treats the term as meaning that nothing artificial or synthetic, including all color additives regardless of source, has been included in the food, unless it would normally be expected, and the policy was not intended to address production methods. Source

Starting questions

  1. Which sweetener story can a brand tell if the guidelines treat sweeteners as a problem?
  2. Is a drink with 5 grams of sugar a compromise or a destination?
  3. What would zero sugar look like if it did not try to imitate regular soda?

Back to the map Print this brief

A sample brief from the Functional Drinks Compass by Glider Innovations, built from public sources, Oct 2026.