• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, March 10, 2009

In April, All Sport, Inc. and Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. (DPSG) will launch the first zero-calorie sports drink sweetened with rebiana, the natural sweetener derived from the stevia plant.

The launch is one of a growing number of rebiana-sweetened products hitting the market since the Food and Drug Administration approved rebiana (also called Rebaudioside A) as generally safe for use in food, beverages and tabletop sweeteners in mid-December.

Coca-Cola, which developed its branded rebiana sweetener, Truvia, with Cargill Inc., has already launched a reduced-calorie version of Sprite, Sprite Green, as well as Odwalla juice drinks containing Truvia. PepsiCo, which partnered with the Whole Earth Sweetener Company to develop a rebiana sweetener branded PureVia, has launched PureVia-sweetened versions of SoBe Lifewater and Trop50. In addition, both Truvia and PureVia are being marketed as tabletop sweeteners.

All Sport Naturally Zero will be marketed with the tagline, "All the hydration benefits without the calories, naturally," according to Jack Pok, SVP of marketing for Big Red, Inc., parent of the All Sport line and the country's sixth-largest soft drink company.

The new sports drink will be sold in 20-ounce bottles in convenience and gas, grocery and specialty retail channels in three flavors: dragonfruit, strawberry star fruit and mandarin orange.

Marketing for Naturally Zero will be closely tied in with the multi-media marketing program for existing All Sport drinks, which includes ongoing campaigns in traditional and online media and numerous sports sponsorships and endorsement partnerships. (All Sport sponsors the Jeremy Mayfield NASCAR team and recently signed an endorsement deal with PGA star Bubba Watson, for example. A current All Sport television commercial features Shaquille O'Neil.)

All Sport and DPSG, which holds an equity stake in Big Red and is the primary distributor for All Sport, worked together on R&D for the drink for nearly a year in anticipation of the FDA's approval of rebiana, according to Big Red chairman/CEO Gary Smith. The key was developing a 99%-pure version of Rebaudioside A with a crisp, clean taste that blends with the beverage flavor, Smith says.

Rebiana is more expensive than commonly used artificial sweeteners, but Smith and Pok told Marketing Daily that Naturally Zero's price should be no more than 10 to 20 cents higher per bottle than other All Sport drinks.

Could a somewhat higher price be a hindrance for the various rebiana launches, given the current economy? "If it tastes better or has true advantages that can be clearly communicated to the consumer, there are opportunities for 'affordable luxuries,' particularly in the beverage category," says Frank Luby, partner in Simon-Kucher & Partners, a marketing firm specializing in pricing strategies. "But the product must be clearly differentiated."

"Sixty percent of Americans want to lose 20 pounds," observes NPD Group VP and chief F&B industry analyst Harry Balzer. "Money is king now, but any product that promises to taste good, be better for you and help you lose weight without much effort is certainly going to get a trial among any who can afford it."

Big Red has no plans to use rebiana in its Big Red line, according to Smith.

However, DPSG chief executive Larry Young confirmed to Reuters that the company has been working "for quite some time" on using rebiana, and could well launch versions of some of its own brands at some point. Young noted the cost difference and supplier concerns relating to rebiana, but emphasized that taste will be the primary factor in determining whether brands like Dr Pepper, Canada Dry, A&W, 7UP and Hawaiian Punch are extended with rebiana-sweetened versions.

Meanwhile, PepsiCo chief executive Indra Nooyi recently said that the attraction of a zero-calorie, naturally-derived sweetener could help turn around the ongoing decline in carbonated soda sales, and Coca-Cola is describing Sprite Green as "the first of what the company expects will be many new, naturally sweetened, reduced, low- and zero-calorie beverages sweetened with Truvia."