Starbucks Pushing Mildly Healthier Frappuccinos

It's fairly common knowledge that Starbucks Frappuccinos are laden with sugar and calories, with few healthful nutrients or protein. As a result, the coffee franchise has seen Frappuccino sales dip as consumers turned to more health-conscious beverages. To help turn this trend around, the company is attempting to push Frappuccinos with less sugar, as CNN Money reports: "For more than a year, the company has been quietly testing new Frappuccino and flavored latte recipes in 600 stores across California, Missouri and Rhode Island."

As The Wall Street Journal reported last month, Starbucks's revamped Frappuccinos underwent extensive testing "to achieve a similar texture and taste" to the original versions, including testing "more than 20 types of cream, 70 different vanilla flavorings, and... a new bottle to make sure the proper amounts of flavor are dispensed." Those efforts appear to be successful, as consumers are apparently liking the new Frappuccino, hardly noticing the changes, even though the new "16-ounce caramel variety contains 370 calories instead of 420, and includes 49 grams of sugar instead of 67 grams." Still not a great choice for the diet-conscious, but a definite improvement.