Add something else that’s been officially canceled in the new world we all live in. 

The word “diet.”  At least on soda cans. Beverage companies, including the big boys Coke and Pepsi, are getting rid of the word “diet” for their less unhealthy sodas instead of branding them going forward as “zero sugar.”

Keurig Dr. Pepper is also in the name change game, as they are going with “zero sugar” for A&W, Sunkist, Canada Dry, and Schweppes. 

Oh, but get this; they will continue to brand Diet Dr. Pepper as Diet Dr. Pepper. 

Blame Millenials and Gen-Zers for the change.  They don’t like the word diet, so it only makes sense that every beverage company would run to their drawing boards and magically erase the word from cans and bottles. 

Here’s what Greg Lyons, CMO of PepsiCo North America, told CNN. 

“Younger people just don’t like the word ‘diet.”  No Gen Z wants to be on a diet these days.”

Okay, Greg, good to know. 

The diet soda segment has been around since the 1960s, and it does big business. In 2020 the US retail diet carbonated soft drink market sold $11.2 billion in product.  That’s according to the market research company Mintel. 

These decisions are enormous for big companies like Coke and Pepsi.  They don’t make them on a whim, so they must feel they can expand the market with a new name. 

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