Leading Health Organizations and National Beverage and Convenience Industry Associations Join Together to Reduce Sugar and Calories Consumed from Beverages Purchased at Convenience Stores Across the Country

(WASHINGTON, D.C.)  May 3, 2018 – Two of the nation’s leading health organizations have joined forces with the national associations representing the non-alcoholic beverage and convenience store industries today to announce a new collaboration to help people reduce sugar and calories consumed from beverages across the country.

The Alliance for a Healthier Generation and the Partnership for a Healthier America are facilitating collaboration between the American Beverage Association (ABA) and the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) to support their respective existing commitments, which help Americans in their efforts to reduce sugar consumed from beverages by providing more beverage choice.

Through the partnership, beverage manufacturers and retailers will be working together on marketing, merchandising and distribution strategies to drive awareness and increase availability and purchases of zero- and reduced-sugar beverage choices, including waters, in convenience stores across the country.  This partnership is significant given that nearly half of convenience store customers state that their primary reason to go into a convenience store is to purchase a beverage, according to a NACS survey. 

“By coming together to support one another’s efforts, these two industry associations are showcasing the powerful role the business sector can play in supporting the health of our nation’s families,” said Dr. Howell Wechsler, CEO of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation.

Working with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, ABA along with America’s leading beverage companies — The Coca-Cola Company, Dr Pepper Snapple Group and PepsiCo — previously set a goal to reduce beverage calories consumed per person nationally by 20 percent by 2025.

NACS previously committed to the Partnership for a Healthier America to ensure convenience stores across the U.S. are stocked with healthier food and beverage options. 

“These two industries have seized an opportunity to align and increase availability and awareness of healthier beverage options in convenience stores, which will ultimately provide more choices for consumers on the go,” said Nancy E. Roman, president and CEO of the Partnership for a Healthier America.

Through 2019, ABA and NACS will work together to facilitate conversations between their member companies to test and learn scalable solutions to help achieve their respective goals in the convenience store channel.  They also will support their member companies in raising awareness of, and driving consumer interest in, more zero- and reduced-sugar beverage choices. These efforts will be supported in various ways, including through sharing of point-of-sale resources. 

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About the Alliance for a Healthier Generation

The Alliance for a Healthier Generation believes every child deserves a healthy future. For more than a decade, Healthier Generation has been empowering kids to develop lifelong healthy habits by ensuring the environments that surround them provide and promote good health. Driven by our passion that all young people deserve a chance to live healthier lives, our work has helped more than 30 million young people across the country. Make a difference at HealthierGeneration.org and join us on Facebook and Twitter.

About the Partnership for a Healthier America

PHA’s mission is to leverage the power of the private sector to bring lasting systemic changes that improve the food supply, increase healthy choices, increase physical activity and contribute to a culture of health. In 2010, PHA was created in conjunction with — but independent from — Former First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! effort. PHA identifies, accelerates and celebrates voluntary business practices that improve or increase choice or lead to new norms and behavior around food and physical activity. For more information about PHA, please visit www.aHealthierAmerica.org and follow PHA on Twitter @PHAnews.

About the American Beverage Association

The American Beverage Association is the trade association representing the broad spectrum of companies that manufacture and distribute non-alcoholic beverages in the United States.  For more information on ABA, please visit the association’s website at www.ameribev.org or call the ABA communications team at (202) 463-6770.

About National Association of Convenience Stores        

NACS (convenience.org) advances the role of convenience stores as positive economic, social and philanthropic contributors to the communities they serve. The U.S. convenience store industry, with more than 154,000 stores nationwide selling fuel, food and merchandise, serves 165 million customers daily — half of the U.S. population — and has sales that are 10.8% of total U.S. retail and foodservice sales. NACS has 2,100 retailer and 1,750 supplier members from more than 50 countries.