canadians now drink more low- and no-sugar beverages than high-calorie ones, report finds
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plain packaged water is canadians’ top choice for hydration, surpassing carbonated drinks and accounting for roughly 36 per cent of total volumes purchased in 2024.
fred tanneau/afp via getty images
the drink aisle isn’t what it once was. flavoured bubbly water with zero calories or sweeteners, low-sugar, prebiotic pop, and no-sugar, probiotic sodas abound. a new national analysis shows that canadians are lapping up low- and no-calorie options, drinking 23 per cent fewer daily calories from nonalcoholic beverages than they did a decade ago.
this decline exceeded the 20 per cent reduction target the canadian beverage association set in 2015 with the balance of calories initiative — a voluntary, industry-wide commitment to a 20-per-cent calorie reduction in beverages by 2025. the milestone was met in 2023, putting it two years ahead of schedule, according to the signal49 research report funded by the national industry organization.
“the interesting part was how that really was achieved,” says mark dekker, vice president of sustainability, scientific and regulatory affairs at the canadian beverage association and the lead on the project. “it was achieved through a change in the amount of calories that were offered to canadians and also the consumer preference, and the switch over to low- and no-calorie beverages over the last 10 years.”
as the availability of low- and no-sugar drink options has grown, canadians have been choosing them. in the report’s 2014 to 2024 time frame, average calories per serving in purchased beverages fell by 20.3 per cent. meanwhile, average beverage volume purchased per person dropped by just 3.3 per cent.
“this progress shows what’s possible when innovation, consumer demand and public policy goals move in the same direction,” krista scaldwell, president of the canadian beverage association, said in a statement. “our industry responded with reformulation and new product choice, and canadians responded just as quickly.”
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the report notes that lower-sugar formulations and a decrease in purchases of juice and sweetened, non-alcoholic carbonated drinks contributed more than two thirds of total calorie reduction.
the steepest calorie decline, down an average of five per cent annually, took place between 2014 and 2017. this progress was driven by calorie reductions in sweetened carbonated drinks, which were canadians’ beverage of choice at the time, according to the research. as part of the balance of calories initiative, companies reformulated products, introduced smaller sizes and expanded the availability of lower-calorie options.
between 2017 and 2024, the decline was a more moderate 1.5 per cent, which the report says is due, in part, to higher demand for ready-to-drink coffees, energy drinks and other higher-calorie categories.
the report found that iced/ready-to-drink coffee drinks, juices and still drinks (juice/fruit drinks) are the most calorie-dense. while sports drinks and enhanced waters recorded the largest drop in caloric density in the decade, that of still drinks increased by 21 per cent.
low- and no-calorie options now dominate the market. by 2024, they accounted for more than half (52.5 per cent) of total beverage volumes. no longer niche, the volume of low-calorie beverages grew roughly 38 per cent over the decade, while high-calorie ones declined 6.3 per cent.
sparkling waters in particular have expanded in recent years, and canadians are latching onto the many unique products. “it’s exciting to try those new things, and when they match the flavour and the image and have (low- or no-) calories, that’s really a winner,” says dekker.
the report shows that ready-to-drink coffees (+624 per cent), enhanced and flavoured packaged water (+145.6 per cent), and sports drinks (+65.2 per cent) have experienced the strongest per-person growth over the decade.
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on the other end of the spectrum, still drinks (-34.8 per cent), juices (-34.2 per cent), sweetened, carbonated drinks (-22.3 per cent) and nectars (-18.4 per cent) experienced the largest declines.
plain packaged water (+17.7 per cent) is canadians’ top choice for hydration, a trend dekker suspects has been growing since before the report’s period, driven by availability and convenience. “packaged water is really becoming a go-to thing to have on hand for people to have in their coolers in the summer, as well to go along with some of the soft drink options.”
by 2024, still or sparkling unflavoured water had surpassed the sugary carbonated beverages that dominated in the past and accounted for roughly 36 per cent of total volumes purchased. this preference reflects a broader trend of canadians seeking hydration and functionality in their drinks, the report notes.
dekker considers this an interesting area of growth. “people are reaching for things like water, and then they want to find some additional boost or added benefit from their water, whether it’s a flavour profile or in the emerging areas, having some sort of other types of benefit,” he says. “you can see that even when you go to the grocery store, there are a lot more options available.”
functional beverages — drinks marketed to have health benefits — are booming. but the research notes that consumption of functional energy drinks and sports drinks offsets some of the overall calorie reduction.
dekker says there’s an expectation that products such as sports beverages and ready-to-drink tea and coffee provide a certain number of calories. sports drinks serve a functional purpose when people are doing heavy-duty exercise, and tea and coffee beverages often include dairy products and sugar to balance the bitterness. “that being said, the sports drinks category in particular has had a real growth in the low- and no-calorie option over the last little bit of this period.”
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dekker expects canadians to continue seeking out low- and no-calorie drink options, whether they’re swapping out products in their rotation or augmenting what they have in their refrigerator. he adds that they’re happy to showcase the innovation of canadian beverage companies in the report. “it’s really due to their hard work and the consumers responding to the products that they enjoy.”
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