MEDIA RELEASE

New partnership aims to increase awareness of the importance of reducing consumption of sugar in beverages.

VIBE and Diabetes New Zealand have announced a new partnership. As a key partner to Diabetes NZ, VIBE will work with the organisation to drive awareness among Kiwis of how healthy lifestyle habits can help play a critical role in the prevention of type 2 diabetes and the management of all types of diabetes.

Diabetes NZ Chief Executive Heather Verry welcomes VIBE onboard, saying

‘Limiting sugar intake is pivotal to improving health outcomes in our community, reducing the risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and ultimately the long-term complications that can develop later in life.’

In New Zealand, close to five percent of the population has been diagnosed with diabetes (predominantly type 2 diabetes), according to the 2021 Social and Economic Cost of Type 2 Diabetes Report.[1] According to the report, Type 2 diabetes is increasingly being diagnosed in young people and is related to obesity. It predicted that the number of people with type 2 diabetes in New Zealand will increase by 70-90 percent within 20 years unless urgent action is taken, suggesting that a focus on prevention is needed to manage New Zealand’s largest and fastest growing health crisis outside of the global pandemic.

Stefan Crooks, Managing Director of VIBE, says,

‘We’re delighted to be working with Diabetes NZ. I have type 2 diabetes myself, so it’s important to me that all the ingredients used have been signed off by Diabetes NZ.’

Crooks says VIBE was born from a conversation about improving the products their existing school food supply business offered.

‘VIBE was created to provide a great tasting alternative to sugary drinks – one that allows kids to enjoy a carbonated drink full of flavour but with zero sugar.’

As VIBE is now available at schools and kura across Aotearoa, Verry says, ‘This allows for strong opportunities to educate school principals on the importance of nutrition intervention, as they have the power to influence children’s knowledge and behaviour.’

The New Zealand Health Survey 2018/2019 found that approximately one in nine children (aged two to 14) were obese, with an over-representation in Māori and Pacific communities.

Crooks says, ‘Today’s consumers are looking for products like VIBE that support their emotional, indulgent, and physical health needs, ranging from relaxation to hydration. They want less sugar – no question. But they also don’t want to sacrifice taste.’

He says VIBE concentrates on the quality of its natural flavours, which are made from New Zealand ingredients.

‘Consumers are not only demanding functional drinks that don’t compromise on taste, they’re also looking for companies that adhere to a sustainable ethos. That’s why there’s no plastic used on VIBE products. Our clear can design and branding highlights the aluminium-can packaging and encourages recycling.’

Diabetes NZ is looking forward to extending the messaging about good nutrition in partnership with VIBE.

VIBE is available in schools and in New World, Pak’nSave, and Four Square stores. It’s also online at vibedrinks.co.nz.

Notes to Editors

About Diabetes New Zealand

The prevalence of diabetes in New Zealand and the chronic downstream health complications marks diabetes as this country’s most serious long-term health challenge. It is of pandemic proportions. Some 278,000 New Zealanders suffer from diabetes. A further 100,000 people are predicted to have pre-diabetes or are at risk. The incidence of diabetes is unabated with 40 people a day developing diabetes. The personal and social costs are enormous, as is the vast cost to our health system. Together with whānau and family, we estimate that over 1 million people in New Zealand are affected by diabetes – 20% of the nation.

Diabetes New Zealand is the charity that supports people with diabetes to help them live full and active lives. We provide leadership for all New Zealanders in ways that deliver impactful change and convert burdens to the freedom to live healthy, active and fulfilling lives. We aim to empower people with diabetes and their whānau. We facilitate peer group networks and champion and advocate on behalf of people with diabetes to help achieve our vision: Life free of diabetes and all its complications and burdens.

Join us on Facebook and Instragram.

Read Diabetes NZ’s June 2022 submission on healthy food and drink in schools

About VIBE

Vibe is a New Zealand brand specialising in healthy drinks and snacks. We don’t believe in having to choose between indulgence or a healthy modern lifestyle, we strive to combine both.

https://vibedrinks.co.nz/

Looking for more? You’re in the right place, join us on Facebook and Instagram.

About Diabetes:

Diabetes is an enduring disease that occurs when the pancreas is no longer able to make insulin, or when the body cannot make good use of the insulin it produces. Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas that acts like a key to let glucose from the food we eat pass from the bloody stream into the cells in the body to produce energy.

There are three main types of diabetes:

Type 1 diabetes is usually caused by an auto-immune reaction where the body's defence system attacks the cells that produce insulin. People with type 1 diabetes produce very little or no insulin. People of any age can be affected, but it usually develops in children or young adults. People with type 1 diabetes need injections of insulin every day to control the levels of glucose in their blood.

Type 2 diabetes accounts for at least 90% of all cases of diabetes. It can occur at any age and remain undetected for many years. It is often diagnosed following a complication or routine blood test. Often people with type 2 diabetes can initially manage their condition through exercise and diet, however, over time some people will require oral drugs and or insulin. 1 in 4 New Zealanders is estimated to have prediabetes, when the glucose in your blood is higher than normal but not high enough to be deemed diabetes.

Gestational diabetes: This occurs when a pregnant woman has high levels of glucose in her blood. Gestational diabetes is temporary and usually goes after pregnancy. However, a woman who has had gestational diabetes has a 50-60% increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

 

 

[1] Social and Economic Cost of Type 2 Diabetes Report, conducted by PwC and funded by Diabetes NZ, March 2021