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Enviga

The official Coca-Cola logo
Type	Carbonated soft drink
Manufacturer	The Coca-Cola Company
Country of origin	United States
Introduced	2006

Enviga is a green-tea based, caffeinated, carbonated drink currently in testing by the Coca-Cola Company. According to one executive, it is claimed to burn 60 to 100 calories per 3 x 12-oz serving by speeding up the user's metabolism. It is worth emphasizing Coca Cola quotes 60-100 calorie loss for three drinks - the loss for just one drink being only 20-33 calories.

The weight loss is said to derive from the process of thermogenesis which in effect, is increasing metabolism as a means of burning calories. Jana Skinny Water was the first product released to make this claim. When launched, industry analysts predicted Enviga would target active lifestyle consumers. The principal active ingredient - EGCG or epigallocatechin gallate - has been extensively researched for its reputed medicinal properties. A study of 40,530 Japanese adults recently found that it did not benefit in protecting against cancer as expected, but did protect against stroke/heart disease. It is also claimed to be a calorie burner in combination with caffeine. However, it is unclear whether the quantities in this product are sufficient to have a significant effect on weight loss - especially if the product contains similar levels of added sugar to most other green tea beverages. As a guide, Coke is suggesting Enviga is calorie - neutral - which appears to suggest its calorie creating content is cancelled out by its calorie burning content. If it is just a net zero-calorie beverage it hardly justifies the hype surrounding it. However, it may have some cardiovascular benefits and value as a substitute for non-medicinal carbonated beverages containing even higher levels of sugar. Coke is claiming the use of green tea from tea plants with particularly high levels of EGCG. This is probably irrelevent inasmuch the Enviga formula can probably adjust the EGCG level up or down simply by adding more or less tea extract. In the absence of further scientific information, it does not appear Enviga is substantially different to any still or carbonated green tea product on the market. However if one wished to choose between fully sweetened Coke and Enviga - then from a nutritional point of view Enviga is likely to be a substantially more health-beneficial option. Another active ingredient in green tea is L-Theanine, which is a relaxant and counteracts the jittery effect of caffeine. It is not clear how much L-Theanine is in Enviga, but if present it may permit additional levels of caffeine to be used in the formula. Higher caffeine levels may increase metabolism and weight loss, but it is unlikely to be significantly different to any other caffeine based carbonated beverages. It could also be argued that high caffeine beverages are a fairly crude way of achieving weight loss. Another concern is that EGCG levels degrade with processing and distribution, and it is unclear how much of the active ingredient is lost by the time the drink is consumed. Consumers are probably better advised to brew their own fresh, unsweetened green tea or white tea beverage. Despite the comparatively high cost, white tea is a more naturally sweet tea beverage than green tea. Additional levels of EGCG and L-theanine are also available at very low cost (about only 10 cents per equivalent 2-3 cups of green tea) in capsule form from a number of supplement makers.

Coke and its business partner, Nestle, plan to introduce Enviga to the north eastern United States in November 2006. It will launch nationally in January 2007 and in Latin America, Europe and Asia later next year.

Footnotes

1. Coca Cola Company Press Release: http://www2.coca-cola.com/presscenter/pdfs/enviga.pdf
2. BBC News audio interview: http://news.bbc.co.uk/nolavconsole/ukfs_news/hi/newsid_6040000/newsid_6043700/bb_rm_6043792.stm
3. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
4. Coca Cola Company Press Release: http://www2.coca-cola.com/presscenter/pdfs/enviga.pdf
5. http://www.dailyadvance.com/biz/content/shared/money/stories/2006/COKE_1012_COX.html

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