Coca-Cola to introduce 250 ml cans

Coca-Cola, which was founded in 1886 and introduced into the UK in 1900, would start selling a 250 ml can alongside its traditional 330 ml can.

The smaller can would address concerns about rising obesity levels and also target on-the-go shoppers seeking greater convenience.

The new 250 ml cans of Coca-Cola, Diet Coke and Coca-Cola Zero would start retailing mid July across the UK's convenience stores and cost only 49p.

A 250 ml Coca-Cola can would contain about 105 calories, as against 139 for a traditional can. The smaller can was already on sale in other parts of the world.

According to Jon Woods, general manager of Coca-Cola for Great Britain and Ireland, the 250 ml can was a really exciting new addition to the Coca-Cola UK portfolio.

He added the slimline cans offered people a handy Coca-Cola, Diet Coke or Coca-Cola Zero at great value, which was really important as it was known that affordability was high on the agenda for many British shoppers.

He added, it also formed part of the company's ongoing commitment to provide the people who enjoyed the company's drinks with greater choice in terms of calories and portion size, supporting the company's goal of helping to promote greater awareness of energy balance in diets across the UK.

Coke's decision to launch the first new can size for 20 years is driven by two factors – health concerns and the fact that people simply did not have as much money to spend. The small can would offered at the same price per millilitre as the 330 ml can.

Wood said people wanted different pack sizes for different occasions, adding, there was a growing desire to manage what one was consuming compared to what one was expending. He added, the company was making it easy to do that.

He said there were a lot of families out there whose budgets are extremely stretched. He added, if one looked at the latest data they would show that the average weekly disposable income for families in the UK was £157.

He said it had declined by about 5 per cent since 2010 and families were feeling the squeeze. The company was therefore saying this was their most affordable pack ever.

Coke has a significant presence in the UK, employing over 4,500 people, mostly through its manufacturing, bottling and supply business, Coca-Cola Enterprises. The last quarter, had seen the British business return to growth.