The Internet is Abuzz With Talk About The Negative-Calorie Beverage Enviga, But Does It or Does It Not Have Sugar?

The Internet is abuzz with talk about Enviga, a new sparkling, green-tea-based beverage "proven to burn calories," which will hit Northeast stores in November and roll out nationally in January.

The new, "negative-calorie" drink — developed jointly by The Coca-Cola Company and Nestle S.A.. — is being touted as actually increasing calorie burning — that is, if you drink three beverages over the course of a day.

This is absolutely brilliant marketing to get you, the unsuspecting consumer, to fork over the suggested $1.29 to $1.49 per can three times a day. (If you develop an Enviga habit, it can be quite costly. That’s a minimum of $3.87 a day, $27.09 a week, or a whopping $116.10 a month!)

As I’m reading all these announcements on sites such as Advertising Age, BevNet.com, and NewsTarget.com, my burning question is this: Does Enviga contain sugar or not? Artificial sweeteners? (I have scoured the Internet for an answer and haven’t found one, so I’ll look into it and get back to you.)

Meanwhile, it’s quite riveting to see how they’re positioning this product as one healthy people will consume. Just listen to what John Hackett, senior vice president of Coca-Cola North America Marketing, has to say (in a press release).

"We’ve seen a shift in consumers’ attitudes toward diet and health and wellness, with more consumers seeking product choices that support active lifestyles, rather than just eliminating things from their diet," Hackett says.

He continues: "Enviga is a great tasting beverage that invigorates your metabolism to gently burn calories, and it’s a positive step people can take as part of a balanced lifestyle–like taking the stairs."

My blogging buddy Jimmy Moore of Livin’ La Vida Low Carb had an absolute field day after reading that statement. He burst into pounce-mode when commenting on Hackett’s stairs analogy:

"Oh please, Mr. Hackett! Drinking Enviga is as good for you as ‘taking the stairs?!’ Not hardly, my friend, but nice hyperbole to get your point across. Again, I am concerned that people will erroneously think this new health beverage will be good for them because of the aggressive marketing that will be used to convince them of that. As someone who has struggled with being morbidly obese weighing in at over 400 pounds in my life, it saddens me to think that millions of people will be fooled into believing the hype about Enviga and shell out their hard-earned money to try it."

All said and done, there’s no denying the fact that lots of research shows the beneficial effects of drinking green tea.

But, as Jimmy and other critics have pointed out, why do you need to buy a sparkling green-tea product? Why not just brew some green tea yourself?