Australian drinks Industry leads in providing consumers with healthy choices 

Australian producers of non-alcoholic drinks are leading the rest of the shopping trolley in giving consumers better choices to reduce consumption of sugar. 

Recent peer-reviewed research in the journal Nutrients shows a long-term, 20+ year shift in Australians’ non-alcoholic drink choices away from regular sugar drinks, with each Australian over that 20-year period drinking an astonishing 30 per cent less sugar, the equivalent of 32 teaspoons or 127 grams of less sugar per person, per year. In fact, since 2015 sales of low/no sugar drinks have exceeded those of regular sugar drinks. 

Australians have achieved this outstanding result through consuming significantly more no-sugar drinks, such as plain, sparkling and functional waters, and sugar-free drinks. That’s the equivalent of many Olympic pools filled with plain water and low/no sugar drinks given 60 per cent of non-alcoholic drinks consumed by Australians are these varieties. 

The significant shift away from sugar sweetened drinks in favour of low/no sugar varieties, including an exponential rise in the consumption of bottled water has been fuelled by an impressive portfolio renovation in the drinks industry that has been well underway for decades and includes reformulation, smaller pack sizes, more diversity in vending and workplace settings, and full support for canteen guidelines and the Health Star Rating Scheme. 

Bringing speed and scale to this portfolio renovation agenda is the industry’s flagship Sugar Reduction pledge, launched in June 2018. It is a commitment by the nation’s largest drink companies to reduce sugar across their portfolio by 20 per cent by 2025, a goal the industry is already well on the way to exceeding. This is the first time an industry in Australia has united to reduce sugar and shows the drinks industry is stepping up to play its part and is ahead of the rest of the items in the shopping trolley in being responsive and responsible. The drinks industry encourages other sectors of the food supply to also step up and launch their own pledges and play their part in addressing a complex, multi-factorial problem like obesity and diabetes. 

These positive steps by the drinks industry and the encouraging public health trends including the latest data on drink sales are seismic shifts in sales and consumer purchasing patterns over two decades. These important changes have happened at the same time that obesity and diabetes rates have risen significantly in both adults and children, underscoring the complexity of the problem and the importance of a multi-sectoral solutions approach. 

MEDIA ENQUIRIES: Cathy Cook, Head of Corporate Affairs, 0406 399211,