Soft drink giants are calling on smaller companies to voluntarily slash calories from their products - before they are forced to by legislation.

Big names including Coca-Cola Enterprises UK MD Simon Baldry will attend a summit meeting of more than 30 companies called by the British Soft Drinks Association (BSDA) next Tuesday (12 March). They will urge their smaller counterparts to get more involved in the Department of Health’s Responsibility Deal.

With NGOs calling for a fizzy drinks tax and Labour promising to cap sugar levels if it comes to power, there was a growing acceptance that the industry had to act fast to avoid regulation, sources told The Grocer.

“This has been on my agenda since day one,” said Gavin Partington, new director general of the BSDA, which is hosting the event in London. “Getting a wider take up is clearly important for the government, but it’s also an opportunity for the industry to step forward and show it is playing a leading role.”

One leading industry source admitted there was frustration at the lack of take up from smaller companies.

“This is surely a no brainer. Companies always say they don’t want to see regulation. Surely they have to realise they are being given a voluntary route out - why don’t they take it?”

Partington added: “There are all sorts of stories about the amount of paperwork involved and smaller companies don’t have armouries of people to deal with these things. This is a chance for the leading companies to help.”

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