New research from Mintel reveals more education is needed by stevia brands in Germany if usage is to increase, with only three in every ten consumers believing that the natural sweetener is good for their health.
Latest research demonstrates that German consumers are more likely to believe that stevia is neither good nor bad for their health (31%), or not know whether stevia is a healthy option (29%), compared to the 28% of people who see stevia as a healthy option.
But stevia did outperform all other sweeteners in perception tests among a sample of more than 1,000 German consumers, narrowly outperforming agave by 28% positive to 27%, and beating raw sugar and brown sugar – both thought to be natural and healthy by 15% of respondents – into a distant joint third. Only honey and maple syrup fared better than the leaf extract, which Mintel attributed to consumers’ greater familiarity with them.
Natural alternatives to sugar are gaining stronger interest more generally, with nearly four in ten Germans indicating an interest in seeing more naturally sweetened diet products – rising to as many as 42% of 16–24 year olds.
Mintel senior food and drink German analyst Katya Witham said: “As obesity creeps up on the nation, stevia’s plant-based origin makes it an attractive sweetener for health-conscious German consumers. But lack of familiarity with stevia indicates that more educational efforts are required from the German food and drink industry to drive usage, which is then set to present considerable future opportunities for the stevia market.
“2014 saw major food and drink brands launching their first stevia-based products in Germany, bringing stevia to a more prominent position. While multinationals have taken the lead on stevia innovation in Germany, smaller players will likely follow suit in the near future. What is more, stevia’s popularity appears to be growing not only in pre-prepared food and drink products, but also as a tabletop sweetener. Major sweetener brands have now launched a variety of stevia-based sweetener products in Germany, while retailers have introduced their own brand versions of tabletop stevia sweeteners.”
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