Gatorade Launches New 'Zero' Drink With No Sugar Or Carbohydrates

Sports drink brand Gatorade is releasing a new, healthier option of its beverage, the company announced Wednesday.

The drink, dubbed Gatorade Zero, has no sugar or carbohydrates and will be available in the U.S. this week in flavors including orange, lemon-lime and glacier cherry, CNN reported.

It will sell at the same price as the brand’s classic formula. Gatorade is currently owned and distributed by PepsiCo.

It is the first time the soft drink company has produced a formula without carbs or sugar. A bottle of classic Gatorade has 140 calories, 34 grams of sugar and 36 grams of carbohydrates, while the company's G2 option contains just 7 grams of sugar, 8 grams of carbs and 30 calories in a 12-ounce bottle.

The announcement comes as Gatorade looks to compete in a market where many athletes seek health-conscious drink options such as coconut, sparkling, electrolyte and other flavored waters with natural ingredients.

Meanwhile, the sports drink brand has also had to deal with lawsuits such as the trademark infringement case from a Chicago-based nutrition consultant last week.

A federal judge on Thursday ruled that Gatorade could keep its "Sports Fuel Company" slogan to promote itself in ad campaigns after SportFuel, a sports nutrition consulting firm based in Western Springs, Illinois, challenged that consumers would get the two brands confused.

U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly, in his ruling, stated that "a picture is worth a thousand words" when it comes to consumers looking at the actual slogan, as Gatorade typically uses a larger, bolder type on its products. Kelly added that Gatorade used "sports fuel" as a descriptive term which doesn’t infringe on copyright law.

"We are pleased with the outcome of the case and look forward to continuing our mission to fuel athletic performance," Gatorade spokeswoman Katie Montiel Vidaillet said Monday in an emailed statement to the Chicago Tribune.

Julie Burns founded SportFuel in 1993 and since then the company has worked as a nutrition advisor to professional sports teams like the Chicago Blackhawks and professional athletes. The SportFuel name was registered in 2008 with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Gatorade was first developed in 1965 by University of Florida College of Medicine researchers to help student-athletes retain any electrolytes lost during competition. Since then, the sports drink brand has produced an estimated $3.3 billion a year in sales.