Soft drinks brands sign up to government Responsibility Deal initiative

Lucozade, Ribena and J20 are among the latest brands to sign up to the government’s calorie reduction Responsibility Deal pledge, which aims to curb obesity levels.

Ribena: cutting calories
Ribena: cutting calories

GlaxoSmithKline-owned (GSK) Ribena ready-to-drink and Lucozade Energy will reduce the amount of sugar and calories they contain by up to 10%. AG Barr, producers of IrnBru, will reduce the calorific content across its portfolio of drinks by 5%, while and J2O will launch two flavours in a new slim-line can, representing a 10% calorie reduction from its standard 275ml bottle.

The eight new drink and food manufacturers, supermarket and catering companies to have signed up today (22 January) include GSK, Co-Operative Food, Burtons Biscuits, AG Barr, Britvic and Dairy Crest. They join the 23 companies including Asda, Coca-Cola GB, Mars, Tesco and Subway that have already signed up.

Public Health Minister Anna Soubry said: "We are encouraged by the extra businesses which have signed up today but I want to see even more progress. All in the food industry have a part to play and I now expect companies which are not yet taking action to come forward and make pledges."

Melanie Leech, Director General at the Food and Drink Federation said: "Today’s announcement of a further wave of calorie reduction pledge signatories demonstrates the on-going voluntary commitment by the industry to improving public health. 

"Our members were in the vanguard of calorie reduction signatories last year and I am delighted to see manufacturers again at the heart of today’s announcement," she added.

Market Reports

Get unprecedented new-business intelligence with access to ±±¾©Èü³µpk10’s new Advertising Intelligence Market Reports.

Find out more

Enjoying ±±¾©Èü³µpk10’s content?

 Get unlimited access to ±±¾©Èü³µpk10’s premium content for your whole company with a corporate licence.

Upgrade access

Looking for a new job?

Get the latest creative jobs in advertising, media, marketing and digital delivered directly to your inbox each day.

Create an alert now

Partner content