Coca-Cola in New Zealand welcomes Government’s drinks in schools consultation

Coca-Cola in New Zealand¹ has today announced it welcomes the New Zealand Government’s public consultation proposal for primary schools to only offer water, milk and non-dairy milk alternatives to their students. 

“We’ve long had a policy to only directly sell water into primary and intermediate schools. Coca-Cola in New Zealand is a founding signatory of this commitment through the New Zealand Beverage Council, so it’s great to see that the government is also calling on schools across the country to join the conversation,” says Julie O’Toole, New Zealand Country Manager for Coca-Cola. 

More broadly, The Coca-Cola Company has a long-standing policy not to market its beverages to children.

“A water-only policy for primary and intermediate schools is only one part of our actions to provide appropriate choices for Kiwis. Making sure we’re being responsible in how we market our products by complying with both our own responsible marketing policy and the ASA Children’s and Young People’s Code means that we carefully assess the appeal of our marketing and the placement of ads and promotions so those under 14 are not directly targeted by our advertising or promotions,” adds O’Toole. 

In its latest move, Coca-Cola in New Zealand is continuing to support the New Zealand Government’s voluntary Health Star Rating initiative, transitioning from the energy icon to stars on packs. It’s also driving change by transforming its portfolio of drinks to reduce sugar and actively promoting no sugar soft drinks by heavily featuring these in advertising.     

“Over half our brands in New Zealand now offer a low or no sugar option², and we’re pleased that one in two Coca-Cola products purchased contain no sugar³, which demonstrates a shift in behaviours – or actions – among New Zealanders. More and more people are already choosing low or no sugar products,” says O’Toole.  

“As a leader in the beverage industry in New Zealand, we choose to do more – not just say more – when it comes to helping Kiwis consume less sugar from our beverages. We want to be as open and transparent as possible in our actions and will continue to report on progress against our commitments including responsible marketing and water-only in New Zealand schools.” 

For more information about how Coca-Cola in New Zealand’s actions to help Kiwis consume less sugar, visit Actions on Drinks.

 ____________________________________________________________________________________

1 Coca-Cola Oceania and Coca-Cola Europacific Partners New Zealand

2  Low sugar = less than or equal to 2.5g/100mL

3 Based on Nielsen Total Measured Market RMS Scan Oct 21.