AUSTRALIA – Nestle Australia has announced that it is set to launch a new version of its Milo beverage, made without cane sugar in response to changing consumer needs towards healthier lifestyles.

The latest version of Milo has 30% less added sugar and is a result of more than two years of development.

According to Nestle, the new product has the delicious Milo choc malt taste and crunch, to meet changing nutritional needs of families.

The new Milo 30% Less Added Sugar contains lactose, which is a naturally occurring sugar in the milk powder, and added sugar in the malt barley, but with no cane sugar.

“Milo was originally designed as a nutritious drink for undernourished children during the Depression, delivering added vitamins and minerals in a format children enjoyed,” said Nestlé General Manager Andrew McIver.

“With parents increasingly concerned about added sugar in their children’s diets, we’ve created an option that is true to the Milo heritage and encourages people to drink milk but delivers less added sugar.”

It contains malt barley, milk powder and cocoa and unlike the original Milo, replaces cane sugar with stevia for sweetness, and soluble corn fibre for texture.

The new Milo 30% Less Added Sugar is priced at RRP $6.99 and will hit the shelves in early May, alongside the original Milo range.

“From the very beginning, our focus was on creating a product that both tastes like original Milo, and behaves like original Milo,” Mr McIver said.

“That means not just keeping the same core ingredients of milk powder, cocoa and malt barley, but also making sure it looks the same, tastes great, and has crunchy bits on top.

“People will be able to choose whether they want the original Milo, or the new Milo 30% Less Added Sugar, knowing that whatever they choose will taste delicious.”

The launch comes amidst heightened campaign for sugar reduction and reformulation.

Nestle Thailand recently invested US$6.6 million in the production of a no sugar Milo beverage range to address the growing need for healthier and less sugar products.

In the UK, Nestlé in May unveiled an innovative sugar reduction technique for its “Milkybar Wowsomes” range of chocolate bars.