LONDON, 06.03.13 – Coca-Cola Great Britain today announced that it is taking further action to be part of the solution to the global problem of obesity. 

The new actions are focused on the following three areas:

• Giving people simple and clear information about the calorie content of its drinks
• Encouraging people to get active and take part in regular physical exercise
• Continuing to offer people more choice in what they drink and raising awareness of low and no calorie alternatives


The first step involves the launch of a series of new adverts in the UK.
Tonight, a two minute video, titled “Coming Together”, will air on ITV and Channel 4.  This video reminds viewers that all calories count in managing weight, including those in Coca-Cola products and brands.

It will be followed by a second spot, “Be OK”, which will air later in the evening.  “Be OK” gives clear information on the number of calories in a can of Coca-Cola and how much physical activity we need to do to burn those calories up.  The advert also highlights no-calorie alternative, Coca-Cola Zero, for those who want the great Coca-Cola taste without the calories.

The videos form part of a global advertising campaign launched by The Coca-Cola Company earlier this year, aimed at explaining the importance of ‘energy balance’ to manage weight.  In the UK, “Coming Together” and “Be OK” will be supported by advertising in print media, and further TV advertisements will follow in the UK over the course of the coming year.

The company also announced it was taking further action to implement the commitments made 11 months ago as part of the Department of Health’s Responsibility Deal Calorie Reduction Pledge, to which Coca-Cola was an early signatory.

These include:

• The launch of a new, reduced calorie Sprite in the UK from March 2013: this will contain 30% fewer calories and, instead of being added as a mid-calorie addition to the Sprite range, it will completely replace the current Sprite
• New Coca-Cola Zero advertisement: Coca-Cola Great Britain will launch new Coca-Cola Zero advertising in April.  The advert will continue to build consumer awareness of Coca-Cola Zero’s great Coke taste, zero sugar, no calorie message. Over 40% of the Coca-Cola™ Coca-Cola European Partners sell in the UK is Coca-Cola Zero or Diet Coke
• The announcement of a renewed three-year partnership with UK charity StreetGames, to 2015, which continues the company’s commitment to deliver a lasting legacy of grassroots sports participation following the London 2012 Olympic Games. Since 2010, Coca-Cola Great Britain’s partnership with StreetGames has helped more than 110,000 young people from some of the most disadvantaged areas in the country access sports on their doorstep.

"Obesity is a serious problem and I am determined we will take more actions in Europe to help address it. The actions announced today build on our earlier efforts and are part of a long-term commitment." James Quincey, President Europe Group, The Coca-Cola Company

The actions announced today build on Coca-Cola Great Britain’s existing commitments in this area.  

Our policies:
We are committed to providing fact-based nutrition information to help individuals understand and manage their energy balance.  In simple terms, this is about giving people the information to make sensible choices.  This includes consuming a variety of foods and beverages in moderation and ensuring individual nutrition needs are met, without exceeding the number of calories burned during the day.

Our commitment also includes marketing responsibly, encouraging physical activity and innovation to provide greater choice. 

• Calorie Reduction Pledge: in March 2012, the Coca-Cola system in Great Britain announced plans to reduce the calories in some of our leading soft drinks by at least 30%.  We plan to reduce the average calories per litre of our range of sparkling soft drinks by 5% by the end of 2014. 
• Nutrition Labelling: since 2003 the Coca-Cola system voluntarily included nutrition information on the labelling of all our products.  In 2007 we introduced Guideline Daily Amount (GDA) labelling on the front of our packaging.  This includes calorie information.

We are members of the Department of Health’s Responsibility Deal and are partners of the Food, Physical Activity and Workplace Wellbeing Networks.

Our products:
The Coca-Cola system is committed to providing a variety of soft drinks for every lifestyle and occasion, along with information to help people make informed choices and live active, healthy lives. We do this by:

a) Reducing calories:
• All of our major brands have a widely available no-calorie, zero sugar or low-calorie alternative
• More than one third of the drinks we sell in the UK are low- and no- calorie
• More than 40% of the Coca-Cola™ we sell is no-calorie or zero sugar  
• Since 2007, we’ve reduced the calorie content of: Fanta Orange by 30%; Oasis by 35%; Lilt by 56%
• In November last year, we reduced the calories in Glaceau vitaminwater
• In March this year, we are introducing Sprite with Stevia in the UK, reducing the overall calorie content of regular Sprite by 30%

b) Providing greater choice
• We offer a wide range of single and multi-serve packs.  In 2012, we added to this range with 375ml bottles of Coca-Cola, Diet Coke and Coca-Cola Zero.  We will continue to innovate to provide further choice on pack sizes
• On all pack sizes above 330ml cans, we indicate clearly that a portion size is 250ml (a soft drinks industry standard)

Our programmes:
Coca-Cola Great Britain uses the appeal of our company and brands to encourage people to become more active, more often.  We do this through:

a) Our partnership with StreetGames, which reaches thousands of young people from the UK’s disadvantaged communities, getting them active and involved in sport on their doorsteps.
b) Our 35 year partnership with Special Olympics GB which provides year-round sports training and competition for intellectually disabled people.
c) As the longest continuous sponsor of the Olympic Movement, The Coca-Cola Company always aims to use each Olympic and Paralympic Games as a catalyst to become a better business and positively impact the communities in which each Games takes place.  In partnership with think tank Demos, we created a new evaluation tool to enable corporate sponsors to measure the social value of sponsorship.  In addition to providing financial and operational support, our sponsorship of London 2012 was independently evaluated to have generated genuine social value.

                                                       - ENDS -

For further information and to view the new ads, please go to www.coca-cola.co.uk/comingtogether

Alternatively, please contact Coca-Cola Great Britain Press Office on 020 7998 6287 or email: cocacolapressoffice@redconsultancy.com

NOTE TO EDITORS: 

About Coca-Cola Great Britain: Coca-Cola Great Britain is responsible for marketing 21 brands and over 100 products to consumers across Great Britain, focusing upon developing new brands, extending existing brands and protecting trademarks including Coca-Cola.

Other Coca-Cola Great Britain brands include Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero, Fanta, Sprite, Dr Pepper, Glaceau vitaminwater, Oasis, Schweppes, 5 Alive, Lilt, Kia Ora, Relentless Energy Drink and Powerade. The Coca-Cola Great Britain portfolio is worth £2,086 million with value sales growth of 4.2% in the past year.  Within this, the Coca-Cola Trademark (Coca-Cola, Diet Coke and Coca-Cola Zero) is worth £1,157 million (Neilsen, w/c 19/01/13). 

Coca-Cola Great Britain is committed to developing innovative, responsible and sustainable initiatives that help protect the environment. Recently, the Coca-Cola system launched its PlantBottle™ packaging range made from up to 22.5% plant-based material and up to 25% recycled plastic. 

For more information about Coca-Cola in Great Britain, please visit our website at www.coca-cola.co.uk