Green v. Pink, Yellow, and Blue: Sweetener Packets Face-Off

Watch out Sweet ‘N Low (pink), Splenda (yellow), and Equal (blue), there’s a new sugar packet in town.  A new packet sweetener Truvia(scientifically named rebaudioside A), extracted from the leaves of a Stevia plant, will be dressed in green and will compete for sugar-caddy dominance in restaurants and coffee shops  nationwide.

As reported by The New York Times, “ Showdown at the Coffee Shop,”  rebaudioside A was declared safe to add to food and drinks by the FDA in December of 2008. The product poses a significant advantage over its colorful competitors, as it can be marketed as “natural,” because the extract is plant-derived. 

This poses a significant advantage at a time when organic and whole foods have hit fad-like popularity, as all three other sweeteners are known “fake” sugars formulated from chemicals. Sweet ‘N Low is made from saccharin, Splenda of sucralose, and Equal of aspartame. 

Still, Truvia poses difficulty breaking-in to the market as it is more expensive than the three other artificial sweeteners, and its caloric content is higher.