Lucozade sales plummet after drinks giant makes a MASSIVE change to the recipe, sparking complaints
Manufacturer lost £25million after sales of energy drink dropped nearly 10 per cent in 12 months following tweak to avoid sugar tax.
LUCOZADE have lost £25million in sales after a change in the energy drink's recipe led to customers ditching the product.
The manufacturer tweaked the ingredients used in the drink to try and bypass the Government's new tax on added sugar.
However, the change has caused a fall in sales of 8.4 per cent compared to last year, according to trade magazine .
12 months ago the chief operating officer of Lucozade Ribena Suntory, who manufacture the drink, unveiled the plans.
They require that all drinks produced by the company have less than 4.5g of sugar (a teaspoon) per 1ooml of liquid.
Peter Harding said developments in artificial sweeteners were ";game-changing" and allow them to replicate the same taste.
However, the change didn't go down well with customers who complained about the taste on social media.
Reacting to the figures, Harding said: "We expected to see some impact on Lucozade Energy sales.
"With any brand as well-loved as ours, some consumers will notice a recipe change.
"We are delighted that 13 million shoppers have already converted to the new lower sugar recipe.
"The overwhelming feedback from our extensive sampling campaign was hugely positive and we are seeing extra consumers buy into the category who previously might have disregarded energy drinks because of their higher sugar content."
MOST READ IN NEWS
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.