Pepsi to Launch Stevia Sweetened Cola Exclusively Through Amazon

03 Oct 2014 --- PepsiCo has announced the soon-to-come online release of a new, low-sugar beverage. Pepsi True will launch exclusively on Amazon in mid-October, according to the company's website. The beverage is described as being "sweetened with real sugar and stevia leaf extract." It will, therefore, have 30-percent less sugar than regular Pepsi and will contain no high-fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners, the company says.

It's also the first cola under the flagship Pepsi brand since Pepsi Next 2½ years ago, and it will be among the first colas in the U.S. to use stevia, a plant native to Paraguay, as its primary sweetener.

"For more than two decades, PepsiCo Beverages has been on a transformative journey, expanding beyond its iconic soft drink brands to offer top-selling brands for every beverage occasion and every consumer lifestyle," the company said. The post on the company website highlights the steps they've taken in recent years to sweeten drinks with stevia, including Sobe Lifewater and Australia's Pepsi NEXT.

Coca-Cola recently released a similar stevia-and-sugar-sweetened carbonated drink called Coke Life.