At Suntory Beverage & Food Europe (SBFE), we believe consumers should be able to enjoy great taste and healthier options, without compromise. That belief has driven a decade of action: reformulating, rethinking, and reimagining the drinks we offer across Europe.
When the companies that now make up SBFE came together in 2015, we set ourselves an ambitious goal: to reduce added sugar across our portfolio by 35% within a decade. Nearly ten years later we’ve achieved a 30% reduction - the result of focused reformulation, sustained investments and deep technical knowledge.
Our progress also reflects a broader shift across the soft drink sector, as we and others work to expand consumer choices and support healthier diets. This is the story of how we’ve transformed our drinks, our ingredients and our approach to consumer health.
This journey has never been about hitting numbers for the sake of it. It’s about the continuous improvement of our recipes - putting trust, taste and responsibility at the centre.
Reformulating drinks that people know and love is no small task. Over the past ten years, we’ve reformulated more than 300 drinks, a process that demanded time, science and perseverance. But we’ve stuck to our course, because we believe better drinks should be the norm, not the exception.
Our progress so far:
Reducing sugar across our drinks while preserving their much-loved taste wasn’t about quick fixes, it meant rethinking ingredients, recipes and managing consumers’ expectations.
We focused on two key paths:
Reformulating iconic drinks like Orangina, Oasis and Ribena meant rethinking every ingredient while staying true to what people love.
Just as importantly, we’ve worked to offer genuine choices to our consumers. By expanding our portfolio to include both lower- and no-sugar drinks alongside original favourites, and by providing clear serving size and nutritional labelling to help consumers make confident, informed decisions.
To get there, we:
A Unique Way of Understanding Consumers
At Suntory, innovation begins with people. We don’t rely on data alone, we spend time in the real world, understanding how people live, choose and experience our drinks. That philosophy is captured in Gemba with Seikatsusha.
Gemba means being present in people’s everyday environment, watching how they interact with our products. Seikatsusha recognises that people are not just consumers, but individuals shaped by their values, emotions and routines.
When we reformulate a drink or develop a new product, we start with the human experience, not the product. Gemba allows us to observe how people truly enjoy our drinks; Seikatsusha reminds us that every person is unique. This approach allows us to identify the unique value of each of our products, define it technically, and develop towards that specific target. That’s how we create products that genuinely resonate.
Dr. Zafer Gezgin, Principal Scientist, SBFE
Progress you can taste
Transforming our drinks was never just about reformulating recipes, it was about delivering on a bigger vision: making healthier choices more accessible while keeping that same great taste that’s been loved for generations.
Along the way, we faced real challenges. Reformulating iconic brands meant managing high consumer expectations, particularly in markets like the UK where flavours have deep emotional connections. Differences across countries, from consumer tastes to regulatory requirements, added further complexity.
Staying true to our strategy meant investing in innovation and balancing immediate feedback with long term goals. Through it all, we remained focused on the bigger picture: creating drinks that are better for people, and for the future.
Reducing added sugar by 30% over the past decade marks a significant milestone and a strong foundation for future efforts. While we won’t quite reach our original target of a 35% reduction by 2025, we will come very close at 32%. By 2030, we aim to go further still, reducing total sugars across our portfolio by more than 35%. This next chapter builds on years of reformulation expertise, ingredient innovation and our continued commitment to offering better choices.
Our journey shows what’s possible when health, taste and trust guide every decision. Despite challenges, we've remained focused on innovation, consumer well-being and responsible practices. As we look ahead, we will continue to create and invest behind healthier, drinks that our consumers can feel good about choosing.
We will continue to innovate using the latest technology, research, and consumer feedback. Through global research at our Japan headquarters and rigorous quality standards, we aim to stay ahead of the curve, ensuring drinks that deliver long-term satisfaction and trust
Vincent Meron, Chief R&D Officer, SBFE