PepsiCo announced Thursday plans to use a natural, no-calorie sweetener based on the stevia plant, joining Coca-Cola Co. in the effort to bring a stevia-sweetened beverage to market.

Pepsi plans to begin selling in August a version of SoBe in Peru that uses a new stevia-based sweetener called PureVia. Pepsi, based in Purchase, N.Y., jointly developed PureVia with Whole Earth Sweetener Co., a subsidiary of Merisant Co., the makers of Equal.

"Consumers have always been looking for a beverage that is natural, tastes great and has no calories, and SoBe Life with PureVia answers the call," said Massimo d'Amore, CEO of PepsiCo Americas Beverages, in a press release. "This will have great appeal to health-conscious people who are looking for hydration and natural ingredients."

PureVia will be launched as a tabletop sweetener in the United States this fall, but it has not been approved by the FDA as a food additive. That prevents its use as a direct ingredient in food and beverages. Stevia sweeteners are available as dietary supplements.

Atlanta-based Coke and Cargill, a Minneapolis-based food products company, announced in May they had jointly developed a stevia-based sweetener called Truvia. Cargill has started selling Truvia as a tabletop sweetener, but Coke has not said which beverages could use Truvia.

Beverage companies see potential in the stevia plant because it offers a natural, no-calorie way to sweeten drinks. Stevia, 200 times sweeter than sugar, already is used as a food additive in parts of Asia and South America.