Health-Conscious Consumers Souring Towards Sugar And Sweeteners
Fully Unsweetened – An option is for brands to simply go ‘cold turkey’ and produce fully unsweetened versions of their products. Muesli and other cereal brands such as [inset examples] have done just this.
Brands could also include serving suggestions, such as supplementing cereals with fresh whole fruit, to provide natural sweetness and maintain blood sugar levels.
Ironically, with fully unsweetened products, the consumer often negates the benefits by pouring golden syrup and sugar on top.
One may argue that it’s better that shoppers have the choice to do this.
But it’s easy for consumers to load on the sugar without realising how much they’re adding (and the resultant carbohydrate and calorific value).
Some argue that brands therefore need to take responsibility for sugar reduction, not consumers.
But even with this, there are challenges.
An unsweetened soft drink, for example, would be simply unpalatable to many consumers.
Perhaps the most sustainable method of avoiding the anti-sugar lobby is therefore sugar reduction.
Sugar Reduction
Reducing sugar levels is the path taken by major brands such as Heinz baked beans, Frijj and Cheerios.
A modest reduction that doesn’t drastically alter taste but offers some benefit and makes consumers feel virtuous ticks many boxes.
How Your Brand Can Avoid Losing The Sugar Wars
The losers are brands that bury their head in the proverbial sand and think this trend is going to fall away.
It won’t.
Meeting health-conscious consumers’ increasing needs isn’t simple, but with a xxx growth [do we have stats?], it’s a glittering prize worth winning.
Not to mention providing the consumer with real choice.
The winners in the sugar wars will be brands that address the sugar challenge within their category for their shopper in a way that aligns with their brand values.
How complete is your strategy for achieving this? To explore how we may be able to help your results match your ambitions for your brand or portfolio, contact us on +44 (0) 1803 203387 for a free 30-minute consultation.
