In Finland, we drink a different kind of Fanta than, for example, in Spain.
The lemonade’s product information always also shows the percentage of juice. Adobe stock / AOP
You must have noticed at some point that the wine enjoyed in a seaside restaurant in Italy does not taste the same when you drink it at home. The reason for this difference is in the environment and one’s own atmosphere.
But you can’t blame the gap between your ears when you taste Fanta on vacation in the south. It really tastes different than the Fanta drunk in Finland.
The reason is in the orange juice and its quantity, says the person responsible for Fanta’s communication in Finland Thea Natri.
In Finland, Sinebrychoff produces orange-flavored Fanta with 4.5 percent orange juice.
Although the amount is higher than the average for orange drinks in Finland, it is much lower than, for example, Fantas sold in Southern Europe, where the juice content is, for example, eight or six percent.
– The drink recipe is always the result of a product development project, where the effort has been made to find the flavor that best suits the local taste and drinking culture, says Natri.
Swedish Fanta has six percent juice.
Fanta is the world’s best-selling orange soft drink. Adobe Stock / AOP
– My understanding is that Sweden prefers a sweeter taste than Finland. The juice brings sweetness and a little more sugar and calories to the drink than what is available in Finland.
Natri continues that a good example of the differences between the drinks is that in Finland it is customary for orange soft drinks to be orange (the color of the peel), while in more southern Europe the color can be light yellow (more the color of the juice).
Fanta drinks with less sugar have been launched in many markets. In Finland, orange Fanta has had 30 percent less sugar for several years.
If the taste of Fanta varies by country, there is one soft drink whose recipe is the same in 206 countries.
– Coca-Cola is an exceptional drink in that it tastes good to people all over the world without having to modify the recipe to meet local tastes. Coca-Cola is made with the same recipe all over the world, says Natri.