Sugar Reduction Pledge

Fifth progress report, 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2022

Australia’s leading non-alcoholic beverage companies have continued to reduced sugar across their beverage portfolios by 18% between 2015 and 2022.

The latest Report, the first to measure progress towards the new target of 25 per cent, provides more detail of the industry’s long-term commitment to provide more drink choices and support Australians to reduce their sugar consumption. The Report indicates that while total sales volumes increased by 3.5 per cent in the period 2021-2022, the grams of sugar per 100ml in Pledgees’ beverage portfolios fell to 4.94g, well below the required 5.10g required to meet the 25 per cent stretch target. To date, Pledgees have undertaken a range of initiatives to achieve this sugar reduction including the reformulation of existing products; the introduction of new low and no sugar varieties; providing smaller pack sizes and encouraging consumers towards low and no sugar options through greater investment in marketing and advertising. Over the last 12 months this has delivered a 3.7 per cent increase in the low and no sugar variety sales.

The drinks industry recognises it has a role to play in addressing the complex issue of overweight and obesity, but we also know we can’t do it on our own. We will continue to encourage other sectors and industries to unite and launch their own commitments to reduce sugar, saturated fat or salt.

Learn More: ABCL Sugar Reduction Pledge report CY2022

Less Sugar, More Choice: the Australian beverages industry leads the way on sugar reduction

Today the Australian Beverages Council and the nation’s four largest drink companies announced a landmark commitment to accelerate sugar reduction as part of Australia’s first and only self-regulation of sugar in products. In 2018, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Asahi Lifestyle Beverages, Coca-Cola South Pacific, and Pepsi Co Australia and New Zealand, committed to reducing sugar across their non-alcohol beverage portfolios by 20% from 2015-2025.

Those companies have today upgraded their target to a 25% reduction in sugar across their non-alcohol beverage portfolios from 2015-2025. The new commitment follows a 2021 progress report that showed an impressive 16% of sugar had already been removed since 2015. The upgraded target is also the right thing to do for Australian consumers who are wanting less sugar but more choice in their drink options and Australian beverage companies are responding.

Learn More: 25 by 25 Australian Beverages Sugar Reduction Pledge Commitment

Fourth progress report, 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2021

Australia’s leading non-alcoholic beverage companies have reduced sugar across their beverage portfolios by more than 16% between 2015 and 2021, placing them well on track to achieve the 20% sugar reduction target by 2025.

The KPMG-authored report found that for the first time in Australia, low- and no-sugar options now account for half of all their beverage sales, up from 47% the previous year. This reinforces consumption trends uncovered in previously published research on more than two decades of drink consumption in Australia; research which revealed a long-term shift in Australians’ non-alcoholic beverage choices over the period.

Sugar Reduction Pledge – Progress Report to 31 December 2021

Third progress report, 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2020

Australia’s largest beverage companies have marked a major milestone by announcing a 12 per cent reduction in sugar in the third progress report on the beverage industry’s flagship sugar reduction pledge. External analysis by KPMG showed that the industry is advancing well ahead of the target required to meet the 20 per cent reduction in sugar by 2025.

  • In the first half of 2020 across all pledge signatories, total sales volumes decreased which has resulted in a reduction in sugar (g/100mL). This is due to a combination of both decreasing sales volume in regular full-sugar beverages (>2.5g/100mL), and decreasing sales volume of low- and no-sugar beverages (<2.5g/100mL).
  • Pledge signatories indicated that large decreases had occurred in sales volume for categories such as still water, pre-mixed beverages and sugar-based sports drinks. Pledge signatories attributed this to consumers spending more time at home, closing of bars, clubs and venues, and the temporary suspension of organised sports.
  • Some of the pledge signatories noted increased sales volume across sparkling waters and low- and no-sugar sports drinks. These pledge signatories attributed this to an increase in the purchase of sparkling waters during the initial pantry stocking stage of COVID-19, while low- and no-sugar sports drinks sales increased as more customers exercised at home.
  • Across the initiative, the most powerful levers of sugar reduction include:
    • Reformulating existing products;
    • Increasing the sales volume of low- and no-sugar varieties; and
    • Introducing additional low- and no-sugar varieties into the market (new product development).
  • In the second half of 2020 weighted sugar g/100ml continued to decrease. KPMG analysis indicated that as sales volumes increased during a recovery from COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, the proportion of sales in low- and no-sugar beverages increased.
  • Continued marketing by pledgees of low- and no-sugar varieties is affecting consumer purchasing behaviour with these types of beverages now representing 54 per cent of sales for the period.
  • For all pledgees the increase in sales was driven by low- and no-sugar carbonated soft drinks and bottled water

Sugar Reduction Pledge –  Progress Report to 31 December 2020

Second progress report, 1 January 2015 to 30 June, 2020

The second major progress report on the Pledge shows that the industry is making significant progress towards its 2025 target, largely as a result of innovation that has led to the introduction of more low- and no-sugar drinks and reformulation of existing products.

For the period 1 January 2020 – 30 June 2020, the sugar reduction progress has been influenced by COVID-19, as consumers lifestyles shifted, so did their beverage consumption.

For the full report, please click on the link below.

Sugar Reduction Pledge – Second Progress Report January 1-June 30 2020

First progress report, 1 January 2015 to 31 December, 2019

On 25 November 2019, the Australian Beverages Council announced the first progress report on the Pledge.

The seven per cent reduction in sugar achieved in the years 2015-2018 was calculated as follows:

Aggregated weighted average grams of sugar per 100mL of non-alcoholic beverage has been calculated for 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 by applying a weighting to corresponding volume for the product in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, respectively. A comparison of the results from 2015 with 2018 provides the aggregate reductions period on period and in aggregate over the four years.

Data has been consistently collected and collated across the reportable years for all products/recipes.

For the full report, please click on the link below.

Sugar Reduction Pledge – First Progress Report 2019

What is the Sugar Reduction Pledge?

In June 2018, the Australian Beverages Council announced a pledge that would see the non-alcoholic beverages industry commit to a 20 per cent reduction in sugar across the industry’s portfolio by 2025.

There are two tiers to the Sugar Reduction Pledge – Signatories and Supporters

Click here to view the Sugar Reduction Pledge: Signatories page
Click here to view the Sugar Reduction Pledge: Supporters page

How will the industry achieve its sugar reduction targets?

The commitment applies to all categories of non-alcoholic beverages represented by members of the Australian Beverages Council that are signatories to the Pledge, including: carbonated soft drinks, energy drinks, sports and electrolyte drinks, frozen drinks, bottled and packaged waters, juice and fruit drinks, cordials, iced teas, ready-to-drink coffees, flavoured milk products and flavoured plant milks.

Some of the instruments Signatory Members party to the Pledge may contribute to the reductions targets could include:

  • Increasing the volume sales of low- and no-sugar varieties.
  • Introducing additional low- and no-sugar varieties into the market by 2020 and 2025.
  • Encouraging sales through the promotion and marketing of low- or no-sugar varieties.
  • Introducing smaller pack sizes or reducing average container sizes.
  • Investing in improved nutritional literacy.
  • Promoting the consumption of bottled water by young Australians and only milk and water for the very young.
  • A cap in sugar content on all existing drinks brands.
  • A cap in sugar on new recipes launched in Australia.
  • Reformulating existing products.
  • Where practical, transition vending machines to include more, low- or no-sugar varieties.

KPMG was appointed as the independent aggregator to measure the progress towards the Pledge being achieved.

Additional materials:

Sugar Reduction Pledge Infographic

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