Hitting The Sweet Spot

 

How Capri-Sun uses sugar and sugar substitutes to create the taste you love

 
 
With Capri-Sun the choice is yours. We offer different flavours and sugar levels for every taste. You can choose a drink that contains sugar, one where the sugar content is reduced or one where there is no added sugar at all (the so-called sugar-free drinks).
 
 
Sugar content in product range of Capri-Sun in Great Britain. Infographic showing the comparison of time needed for different activities daylife to burn off calories of Capri-sun, orange juice or grape juice.
 
 
Let’s find out how Capri-Sun creates that much-loved taste and what types of sugar and sugar substitutes contribute to the mix of each of our drinks.
 
 

Types of sugar

 
 
We all immediately picture white sugar crystals or sugar cubes when we think of sugar. There are actually numerous types of natural sugars that can be found in foods, drinks and plants.
The basic table sugar that always springs to mind is actually called sucrose. It is made up of glucose and fructose and can be found in sugar beets, sugarcane and other plants.
In all plants some type of sugar is always formed as a by-product of photosynthesis.
 
 

Here are some of the types of sugar found in nature:

 
 
  • Fructose (found in fruits and honey)
  • Galactose (found in milk and dairy products)
  • Glucose (found in honey, fruits and vegetables)
  • Lactose (found in milk and made up of glucose and galactose)
  • Maltose (found in barley)
  • Sucrose (found in plants and made up of glucose and fructose)
 
 
 

Sugar: the natural way to sweeten drinks

 
 
Since we first launched Capri-Sun fruit juice drinks to consumers in 1969, we’ve always sought natural ways to create refreshment. We invented the Capri-Sun pouch so that the all-natural ingredients we used would not need to contain preservatives, artificial flavours or artificial colours. Of course, our pouch is also mighty handy for slipping into your lunchbox!

Here's the bottom line about all the different types of sugar: they are all natural energy suppliers, great flavour enhancers and powerful natural preservatives. As we've seen, sugar occurs naturally in many foods and drinks. For instance, our Original Capri-Sun actually contains less sugar than an average real fruit juice.
 
 

Some of the benefits that sugar offers, whether it is added to a drink or occur naturally in the drink's ingredients, include:

 
 
  • A sugary drink is an energy supplier and offers excellent rehydration after a good run around.
  • Sugar can be used to enhance flavours naturally.
  • Sugar acts as a natural preservative.
 
 
These qualities make sugar difficult to replace with substitutes. Unlike sugar, they do not by themselves enrich the existing flavours or preserve the shelf life of the drink.

Yet, we all know about sugar’s big drawback. It’s packed with calories. And, if we consume too much sugar and these calories are not burnt off through exercise, they can turn to fat.

How long does it take to burn off that juice? Click here.
 
 
Infographic showing the comparison of time needed for different activities daylife to burn off calories of Capri-sun, orange juice or grape juice.
 
 
 

Capri-Sun and sugar alternatives

 
 
It’s to help people cut down on their sugar intake, but continue enjoying the same great Capri-Sun taste, that we’ve been on a sugar reduction journey for nearly 50 years now. Low-sugar and no added sugar options are all available today.

Part of this journey has been to introduce sweeteners, instead of sugar, as an option in the ingredient list of our drinks.
 
 
  • While all types of sugar contain four calories per gram, many sweeteners contain only trace amounts of calories.
  • Even sweeteners that are caloric (i.e. contain calories) offer an alternative to sugar: with a sweetening power 3,000 times greater than sugar, they can be used in very small quantities.
 
 

Capri-Sun Fact: Sweeteners offer a sweetening power 3,000 times greater than sugar.

 
 

But what is a sweetener?

 
 
The main way to divide sweeteners is to consider whether they are a natural source of sweetness or an artificially produced sugar substitute. Our taste experts have found ways to hit that sweet spot and give you the taste you love by using both naturally occurring sources and artificial sweeteners.
 
 
The sugar substitutes that we use in our fruit juice recipes include:
 
 
  • Stevia (or Steviol): This natural source of sweetness is found in the leaves of the plant species stevia rebaudiana, native to Brazil and Paraguay. It contains no calories.
  • Acesulfame-K and Sucralose: These artificial sweeteners are among the longest used and most-tested sugar substitutes available. Both contain no calories.
 
 

Capri-Sun Fact: Capri-Sun managed to reduce sugar content from 10 g per 100 ml to 4.9 g by using the natural sugar substitute Stevia.

 
 
Here’s how we sweeten each drink in our pouches to offer you choice in how you take your refreshment:
 
 
  • Original Capri-Sun fruit juice drinks contain less sugar than your average fruit juice.
  • Capri-Sun No Added Sugar fruit juice drinks contain only natural sugars from its fruit juice that is enhanced by the artificial sweeteners acesulfame-K and sucralose.
  • Capri-Sun Fruit Crush fruit juice drinks contain nothing but the natural sugars in fruit juice.
  • Capri-Sun Fruity Water fruit juice drinks contain only natural sugars from its fruit juice that is enhanced by stevia, a natural source of sweetness.
 
 
As you can see, there’s a way to enjoy Capri-Sun for everyone - with or without added sugar, as a refreshing blend of pure fruit and water or as a fruit-flavoured water drink.

The choice is yours.
 
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