Spar UK has removed 51.6 tonnes of sugar and 206 million calories in proportion to annual sales from its soft drinks range.

As part of the refresh to the range, Spar has rebranded its American Cola to Classic Cola, and reduced its sugar content by 10%. 

Spar retailer Edward White, in Calver, Derbyshire, said the move should benefit himself and other retailers due to shoppers becoming more health conscious and interested in low sugar items.

“I imagine this will be a very positive move for Spar retailers. It’s definitely a big thing in the time we are living in now. Cutting back on sugar is something everyone is aware of and we are always looking to stock low sugar items,” he said.

“It’s especially important to stock low sugar soft drinks because they are popular with children and it’s important to educate children about sugar and how it effects health.” 

Spar has also revamped its successful Blue Bear energy drink range, with a brand new look and feel to the drink, as well as a 10% reduction in sugar.

The Blue Bear range - worth more than £1.6m – has also been enhanced with two new flavour additions – Apple Sourz and Cherry Sourz.

Finally, Spar’s Sparkling Water range is getting a refresh, with new labels and a new addition to the 1ltr range: Lemon and Lime 1ltr.

Lemon and Lime is the number one flavour in the waters marketplace, according to the brand, making this a key addition to the Spar brand range.

Spar UK brand director Susan Darbyshire said: “The amount of sugar in soft drinks is becoming an increasing concern for our customers, and as a responsible retailer it’s important that we respond to these concerns.

“So we are making these improvements to make sure our own label offering is competitive, modern and adapts to the changing market and consumer shopping habits. Our Spar brand soft drinks range is worth over £15m per year, covering 69 products in 18 sub categories.

“All these changes, along with keeping our pricing clear and competitive, will help entice even more shoppers into our own label range, boosting sales and profit for our retailers.”

More refreshes on products such as carbonates, glucose & isotonic energy drinks, and mixers will be announced soon.