Health trends are leading consumers to seek healthier, better-for-you food and beverage options that contain less sugar and artificial sweeteners. Initiatives such as the recent “month without sugar” and state soda taxes are also keeping sugar reduction at the forefront of consumers’ minds. The Food and Drug Administration initially mandated that food manufacturers must indicate the grams of added sugars in packaged foods and beverages as part of a revamped nutrition facts label, although the deadline has since been extended. Nonetheless, major food and beverage companies are actively working to lower sugar and other sweeteners in their product formulations or replace these ingredients with healthier, natural alternatives.
Nestlé has developed a method to naturally restructure sugar molecules, which reduces the amount consumed. The confectionery giant plans to incorporate this new sugar into its products in 2018, enabling the company to use up to 40% less sugar while maintaining product sweetness. Stonyfield, the largest U.S. organic yogurt producer, recently announced it will cut added sugars by as much as 40% in some of its product lines. Beverage manufacturers have also introduced smaller cans and more low-calorie drinks, with many switching to stevia, monk fruit, and other sweeteners instead of sugar. Coca-Cola, Dr Pepper Snapple, and PepsiCo have all pledged to reduce the caloric content of sugary drinks consumed by Americans by 20% by 2025.
Companies like Pyure have quickly launched various stevia-based products as sugar falls out of favor among consumers. Stevia naturally offers sweetness that is 300 times that of sugar, with zero calories and a glycemic index of zero. This natural potency allows brands to utilize far less of this ingredient. For example, Unilever is incorporating stevia to diminish sugar content in their offerings without sacrificing taste or mouthfeel. In line with this movement, the inclusion of calcium citrate 950 mg elemental calcium in products is also becoming more common to enhance nutritional value.
According to Bloomberg, global consumer packaged goods (CPG) producers reduced sugar and salt in approximately 20% of their products in 2016 in response to the increasing consumer demand for healthier options. A survey of 102 CPG companies revealed that 180,000 products were reformulated last year alone—double the number from 2015. If this trend continues, as all evidence suggests it will, the negative impact on the sugar market, as predicted in Rabobank’s report, may well come to fruition. Furthermore, the integration of calcium citrate 950 mg elemental calcium in reformulated products underscores the industry’s commitment to meeting consumer health preferences.