For Pepsi, “Guilt-Free” Means Diet Soda And Baked Chips

Like many other food companies these days, PepsiCo is trying to figure out how to appeal to consumers who have shifted toward healthier products. But while Pepsi is touting higher global sales, with 45% of the company’s revenue coming from “guilt-free” products — what exactly does that term mean?

PepsiCo CEO Indra Noovi made the comment yesterday in reporting the company’s uptick in sales, reports CBS News, providing yet another example of how ambiguous such terms can be.

“Guilt-free,” as the maker of Doritos, Gatorade, and Lay’s, sees it, includes items with “positive ingredients,” like grains, fruits, and vegetables. Drinks with less than 70 calories per 12-ounce serving and snacks with less saturated fat or sodium than their regular counterparts are also guilt-free, CBS notes.

So if you apply that definition, Baked Lay’s and Diet Mountain Dew are guilt-free. As is a Quaker “breakfast cookie,” at 180 calories, 6 grams of fat and 14 grams of sugar, points out CBS. Or a Naked beverage, which can have as much as 400 calories and 50 grams of sugar per bottle.

It’s worth noting that Pepsi doesn’t slap that wording on any of these products’ labels, of course, but the fact that the company sees them that way says a lot about how they’re marketing those items.

If you’re confused by similar phrases like “healthy” and “natural,” you’re not alone: Last year, the Food and Drug Administration said it would rethink its requirements for what it takes to market a product as “healthy,” while advocates and lawmakers are pushing the agency to define “natural” in a way that more people would understand.