Right Balance

When it comes to food choices, consumers demonstrate a desire to cut calories and move away from artificial ingredients in their diet. However, these desires are often at odds with one another, especially in the sweeteners sector. The obesity epidemic has caused consumers worldwide to reassess their eating habits and cut out perceived “food villains” from their diets. Consequently, the amount of fat and sugar in food and beverages has come under increasing scrutiny by healthconscious consumers.

Current trends
From a June/July 2011 Datamonitor research, 57% of consumers in the Asia Pacific region (Australia, China, India, Japan, Singapore and South Korea) said product claims of low sugar or no added sugar had high or very high amount of influence on their food and beverage choices. This proportion increased from 44% in 2009, reflecting the growing shift away from products containing sugar.

There is also a comparable shift away from products that are high in calories by consumers. In 2011, 57% of respondents said they were highly influenced by claims of low or reduced calories, compared to 42% in 2009. This reflects a more sophisticated understanding of nutrition among consumers, who identify the direct correlation between sugar content and calories.

This results in a high volume of new products launched in the region with “low sugar” or “no sugar” claims, as Datamonitor’s Product Launch Analytics (PLA) has found 396 such new food and drink products. This trend however represents a slow but steady decline in low/no sugar products since 2007, when there were 549 low/no sugar products launched in the region.

This decline could be explained by the negative publicity in recent years surrounding artificial sweeteners, which generally replace sugar in low/no sugar products. Conflicting reports about the possible dangers or long-term health impacts associated with artificial sweeteners such as sucralose, aspartame and saccharine have caused consumers much confusion and uncertainty about the healthful benefits of noncaloric sweeteners.

This has been compounded by a general shift away from products containing artificial additives, and an intensifying preference for natural products. Based on Datamonitor’s June/ July 2011 consumer research, 61% of respondents in Asia Pacific said claims stating that products do not contain artificial additives had either high or very high amount of influence on their food and beverage choices, compared to 50% in 2009.

In 2009, 37% of respondents said they were favorable towards food and beverages that were tagged natural or organic. In 2011, 62% said the same about food and beverages carrying the claim “natural” or “contains ‘all-natural’ ingredients”. The growing desire for products that do not contain synthetic ingredients has thus inhibited the growth in sugar-free products using artificial sweeteners.

No artificial sweeteners
In the June/July 2011 survey, Datamonitor asked its respondents on the extent of influence the “no artificial sweeteners” claim has on their food and drink buying choices. Significant proportions across the countries surveyed claimed to be highly influenced by the claim, with 75% of respondents in China, 73% in India, 60% in South Korea and 59% in Singapore citing the claim as highly influential in their purchase decisions.

The growing influence of the “no artificial sweeteners” product claim has also affected food and beverage launches in the Asia Pacific region. Datamonitor’s PLA found that, since 2008, there has been a steady increase in the number of new food and beverage products with the claim. While such growth is albeit off a considerably smaller base, it nonetheless represents concerted attempts by manufacturers to address consumers’ concerns about the presence of artificial sweeteners in products. A further analysis of the types of products carrying the “no artificial sweeteners” claim reveals that a range of categories – both healthy and indulgent – are attempting to capitalize on the shift away from artificial sweeteners. Between 2009 and 2010, the claim was most commonly used in juice products, followed by carbonates and functional beverages, reflecting the relative ease with which sugar and artificial sweeteners can be substituted by natural juice while retaining the necessary taste and sweetness profile.

Traditionally indulgent products such as sweet spreads, dessert mixes, sugar confectionery, as well as cakes and pastries are also among the most common categories with new product launches without artificial sweeteners. This reflects efforts by industry players to position their products as “healthy indulgences” by eliminating artificial sweeteners, thereby alleviating some of the guilt associated with consuming indulgent food.

Going natural
The challenge for industry players today is to introduce products that are low in calories and boast of natural credentials. Natural sugar substitutes such as xylitol, sorbitol and maltitol are growing in industrial use, while stevia is garnering increasing publicity and consumer awareness. However, consumers may still view such products with skepticism or apprehension, particularly as these ingredients do not sound like familiar kitchen ingredients. Manufacturers should therefore sweeten products with ingredients that are familiar to consumers, while not confusing them with an array of artificial sweeteners that exist in the market.

Sweetening products with fruit is particularly effective in imparting a “natural” message that, at the same time, emphasizes the functional benefits of fruit such as the presence of vitamins and minerals. Spices such as cinnamon and ginger can also be used to impart unique flavors and appealing scent, but without the addition of calories or synthetic ingredients.

Conclusion
Manufacturers may even experiment with the natural sweetness contained in tea, whilst leveraging its health-promoting, antioxidant properties in their products. Industry players should therefore continually strive to modify their products to boost the nutritional benefits of their products, without appearing to defy nature at the same time. This, when combined with maximizing product flavor, will present an ongoing challenge to food and drink manufacturers in the future.