High fructose corn syrup is the archenemy of the sugar-free diet. Unfortunately, it’s also a primary ingredient in most non-diet sodas and fruit drinks. So what can you do if you want the best of both worlds — fruit juice’s sweet taste and soda’s fizz — without a sugar overdose?

Thanks to Mike Gilbert of Chesterfield, Richmond-area residents will be able to quench their thirst with Knew Jewce, an all-natural, carbonated fruit juice. When Gilbert was laid off from Richmond-based Reynolds Metals, which is being taken over by Alcoa, he used his severance pay for research and development of the product. Deciding to follow the sugar-free health trend, he spent months developing the formula, researching beverage industry trends and gaining an understanding of the pasteurization process. He is speaking with individual investors and venture capitalists, gathering resources to get the business off of the ground. He hopes to have local customers reaching for the Jewce this August.

"I went into convenience stores and could never find this type of beverage," Gilbert says. He contacted Lyons Brewery in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., one of five places in North America that can pasteurize carbonated fruit beverages. The brewery liked his idea, so he began talking with distributors.

This is no Tab or Diet Rite. Based upon distributor interest, Gilbert predicts that Knew Jewce will do over $1 million in revenue in the first year. Could his product be the next Pepsi or Coke? "You better believe it," he says.