She surprised us with a few facts on sweeteners and obesity that I hadn’t heard before.
She divided us into ‘Artifoes’ (those for whom artificial additives are the devil), ‘Artifans’ who want low calorie at any cost, ‘Simply Sugar’ are the guys for whom taste is paramount, and ‘Natural Splendids’, the growing ranks of us who want lower calorie but want it to be natural too (so the perfect focus for its Truvia (Stevia) campaign).
The top three users of stevia by country are:
France is just behind (not surprising it’s in the top five, as it was accepted for launch here two years before anywhere else).
It is used most frequently in carbonates and iced teas and is growing in use across the globe. You may have seen Coke Life – with the iconic script in green – made using stevia and a 50% reduction in sugar. Colas are apparently easier to work with than juices when it comes to taste. The ultimate goal is perhaps 100% stevia, but this isn’t possible thanks to the bitter liquorice aftertaste, so 30% less sugar and 30% fewer calories is the popular sales pitch.
It has been used by Granini in Spain, by Roos Vicee and SiSi in Holland in juice and in numerous ‘dilutables’ and iced teas, but are consumers willing to pay more?
It seems that the on-pack claim of being low in calories is proving popular, but as Caroline explained, “This is not just a ‘drop in’ solution. Cargill Incorporated has already invested 85,000 hours in formulation and application development.
Family understanding and acceptance is important, she concluded. We all want what is natural and good for us, but we have to understand it first.
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