SINGAPORE: Beverage brand Milo on Tuesday (Jun 19) launched a variant of the drink with no added table sugar, in a move welcomed by the Health Promotion Board (HPB).

The Gao Kosong version only contains sugar that is naturally present in milk and malt - the two key ingredients in Milo.



Speaking at the pop-up Milo Gao Kosong Pit Stop at Plaza Singapura, where President Halimah Yacob was also in attendance, Nestle Singapore managing director Rajiv Deraniyagala said that the drink is the result of a challenge posed by the President.

"It was about eight, nine months ago when we had this conversation with President Halimah Yacob on what we can do to reduce the sugar in Milo," Mr Deraniyagala said. "We were introducing our new Milo Gao Siew Dai to her at the time and she challenged us and asked the question: Is it possible to have a Milo with no added sugar?

Milo launched the Gao Siew Dai version last July, which has 50 per cent less table sugar and 30 per cent more protein than the original formula.

"Today, inspired by President Halimah Yacob, after many months of research here in Singapore, we are extremely excited to unveil the first Milo without added (table) sugar," Mr Deraniyagala said.



President Halimah Yacob at the Milo Gao Kosong launch (Photo: Matthew Mohan)

"It's very important that industry partners work with the Government (and) the Health Promotion Board, because you need all these partners to come together," he added. "For Nestle, it's part of our global agenda that we reduce the sugar in not just Milo but other beverages that we offer."

The new drink is endorsed by the HPB under its Healthier Choice Symbol programme.

This comes as the Government body wages a war against diabetes, with a goal set by the HPB earlier this year to reduce sugar in Singaporeans’ diet by 25 per cent by 2020.

“We are pleased to see the launch of Milo Gao Kosong. Milo has been a strong industry supporter in our initiatives to reduce the consumption of sugar sweetened beverages. We are very happy to see the brand take one step further to once again reaffirm its commitment to producing healthier beverage options for Singaporeans," said Ms Audrey Tong, director of HPB's corporate & industry partnerships division, in a statement.

"We look forward to more industry partners coming on board to join us on this journey to encourage consumers to reduce their sugar levels in beverages.”