Diet Pepsi has introduced a new “skinny” can in accordance with New York Fashion Week. The diet soda can is a tall, sleek version of itself that PepsiCo said was “made in celebration of beautiful, confident women.” While the can might look appealing on store shelves, critics wonder if the new approach will perpetuate harmful stereotypes against women and body image.

PepsiCo, a Fashion Week sponsor, is hosting a series of events to launch the new can, including collaborations with popular designers such as Charlotte Ronson and Betsey Johnson.

“Our slim, attractive new can is the perfect complement to today’s most stylish looks, and we’re excited to throw its coming-out party during the biggest celebration of innovative design in the world,” Jill Beraud, chief marketing officer for PepsiCo said in a statement.

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Diet Pepsi is promoting the idea of “slimness” associated with their product with a new packaging ploy. The tall, thin can was launched during New York City’s Fashion Week, no doubt intended to suggest the kind of body one might have by switching to diet soda. The company says the new look is made to celebrate confident, beautiful women.

“Our slim, attractive new can is the perfect complement to today’s most stylish looks, and we’re excited to throw its coming-out party during the biggest celebration of innovative design in the world,” Jill Beraud, chief marketing officer for PepsiCo, said in a statement. The stouter style of Pepsi can will continue to be available.

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I wait all year long to watch the Super Bowl. Part of the allure is the game itself – I’m a huge football fan. The other big draw for me would be the commercials. I love to see how imaginative and creative the companies become, all in an effort to get your attention and your future purchases. Have you noticed, though, that the vast majority of the foods featured in the Super Bowl commercials aren’t healthy? Let’s take a look at some of them.

Doritos – One serving of Doritos is one ounce, between 12 and 14 chips. With 150 calories, 7 grams of fat and 18 grams of carbohydrates, these salty chips make it difficult to stop at one serving.

Coke/Pepsi – Soda is a dieter’s worst nightmare. It’s full of high fructose corn syrup and caffeine and the carbonation can cause stomach troubles. One 12 ounce can of Coke contains 143 calories, one can of Pepsi contains 150 calories and each has more than 40 grams of carbohydrates.

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You may have heard in the news recently that PepsiCo created a salt for its Lay’s potato chips (and other Frito products) that will reduce salt content. At first glance, it seems like a gimmick. You might even think they are trying to make people think that their snack products are healthier. But, there’s actually more to it than that.

I talked with the Director of Public Relations and Marketing, Aurora Gonzalez, about the new salt and got some interesting health-related information.

Frito-Lay cares about making a good product. They were the first company to remove trans fats in favor of sunflower oil. They are thinking about sodium in terms of “if there is something we can do, we should do it.” They know people are concerned about salt intake. They also know that people like seasonings, and products with seasonings tend to have higher salt. So they’ve been looking into sodium and playing with the structure to reduce the total sodium content. They’re doing it because it’s the right thing to do. Frito-Lay realizes consumers struggle with salt intake. Basically, they are trying to make a small dent, while keeping up the integrity of the quality ingredients.

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Maybe the Mayans were onto something with the whole end-of-the-world thing in 2012 after all. Pepsi just announced this week that they plan on pulling all of their fully-sweetened drinks from schools in the U.S., and in more than 200 countries total, by 2012.

In its fight against childhood obesity, The World Heart Federation has been negotiating in recent months with soft drink makers to get them to remove sugary beverages from schools.

Coca-Cola, the number one soft drink maker in the world, has also made some positive moves. This month they changed their global sales policy to not sell any of their drinks in primary schools around the world, unless parents or school districts ask. However, this policy does not apply to secondary schools.
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