Diet Pepsi will soon be removing the artificial sweetener aspartame from its recipe in an attempt to lure back diet cola drinkers to the soda, AdAge reports.

In place of aspartame, Diet Pepsi will use sucralose, which will be mixed with acesulfame potassium, or Ace-K.

"Diet cola drinkers in the U.S. told us they wanted aspartame-free Diet Pepsi and we're delivering," said Seth Kaufman, senior VP of Pepsi and the flavors portfolio for PepsiCo North America Beverages. "We recognize that consumer demand is evolving and we're confident that cola lovers will enjoy the crisp, refreshing taste of this new product."

The change in the sweetener used by Diet Pepsi was first reported by Beverage Digest. Diet Pepsi last changed its formula in 2013, when it blended Ace-K with aspartame. Aspartame has been used by Diet Pepsi since 1983, according to Beverage Digest.

Removing aspartame from its formula will be Diet Pepsi, Caffeine Free Diet Pepsi and Wild Cherry Diet Pepsi in the U.S. The new Diet Pepsi cans will display wording that announces that they are "aspartame free." The new aspartame-free Diet Pepsi products will hit store shelves in August and a new advertising campaign announcing the change is likely as well.

For now, it appears that Diet Pepsi will be the only major soda brand that will remove aspartame from its diet sodas. Coca Cola's Diet Coke uses aspartame and has no plans to change its formula.

"There are currently no plans to change the sweetener for Diet Coke, America's favorite no-calorie soft drink," Coca-Cola said in a statement. "All of the beverages we offer and ingredients we use are safe."

Aspartame has been perceived as being unhealthy and has led to falling sales for diet sodas. Diet Coke sales dropped by 6.6 percent last year and Diet Pepsi dropped by 5.2 percent, according to Beverage Digest.

"The No. 1 thing we see from consumers is a complaint about aspartame," Al Carey, CEO for PepsiCo Americas Beverages, said earlier this year at a financial analyst meeting. "I'd say that diet business stays down for a while. We have some ideas about how we might address it," he said. But it's a "definite drag on the business."

Several studies have proved that aspartame is safe for consumption but consumers still are weary about its use, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Diet Pepsi's decision to remove aspartame from its formula is similar to Kraft's decision to remove artificial colors from its Macaroni & Cheese brand starting in January.

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