(Yicai Global) July 22 -- Genki Forest, a Chinese firm known for its low-sugar tea and sparkling water beverages, has entered the sugar-free cola market in a cautious attempt to take on global giants Coca-Cola and Pepsi in China.

Beijing-based Genki Forest unveiled its new cola beverage today, Yicai Global learned. The product is placed in its sugar-free sparkling water series, which may indicate the firm's prudent approach to direct rivalry with the dominating global cola brands.

The new beverage is Genki Forest's attempt to upgrade sugar-free cola beverages, said Lu Jiao, co-founder. The flavor is less sweet than that of the common sugar-free cola drinks, per Yicai Global.

It took a while for the innovation to gain support. The formula was completed two years ago but was only launched after founder Tang Binsen finalized the plan in late 2021 as many employees objected to the bold move of standing up to the big cola brands.

The naysayers have historical evidence. Atlanta-based Coca-Cola and New York-headquartered Pepsi defeated all Chinese cola brands in the 1990s. The two cola titans are enjoying popular support for their products in China so beverage companies are not willing to compete with them, said Chen Wei, a marketing expert at Lewitt Management Consulting.

Genki Forest is picking an innovative take on the age-old flavor to propose diversified competition with the two firms, Chen explained.

The company needs to boost its variety as it has been facing increasing competition in the sparkling water business since last year. Genki Forest missed its revenue target of CNY7.5 billion (USD1.1 billion) last year even though its actual figure almost tripled to CNY7 billion from a year ago. In the first quarter, the firm's revenue jumped 50 percent.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi