With amount of sugar in food and drink high on the health agenda, SPAR UK has revealed that it has removed 51.6 tonnes of sugar from its own label soft drinks range. The reduction equates to 206 million calories, which SPAR said was achieved thorough review and reformulation of its products.

As part of a refresh of the range, SPAR has rebranded its American Cola to Classic Cola, and reduced its sugar content by 10%. The symbol group said the change will help make sure SPAR Brand Cola has a clear place in the market alongside big brands. 

SPAR has also revamped its Blue Bear energy drink range, with a brand new look and feel to the drink, as well as a 10% reduction in sugar. The Blue Bear range - worth over £1.6m – has also seen the addition of two new flavour additions – Apple Sourz and Cherry Sourz. 

Finally, SPAR’s Sparkling Water range is getting a refresh, with new labels and a new addition to the 1ltr range: Lemon and Lime 1ltr. The group said that Lemon and Lime is the number one flavour in the waters marketplace, outperforming other flavours by twice as many sales, making this a key addition to the SPAR range. 

Susan Darbyshire, SPAR UK Brand Director, said: “The amount of sugar in soft drinks is becoming an increasing concern for our customers, and as a responsible retailer it’s important that we respond to these concerns. 

“So we are making these improvements to make sure our own label offering is competitive, modern and adapts to the changing market and consumer shopping habits.” 

She added: “Our SPAR Brand soft drinks range is worth over £15m per year, covering 69 products in 18 sub categories. All these changes, along with keeping our pricing clear and competitive, will help entice even more shoppers into our own label range, boosting sales and profit for our retailers.” 

SPAR added that more refreshes on products such as Carbonates, Glucose & Isotonic Energy drinks, and mixers will be announced soon.