Sugar-free products accounted for almost 7% of global confectionery launches last year, according to Innova Market Insights.
But the sector should be performing much better amid ongoing concerns about consumers’ health and the reduction of sugar in their diets, particularly after technical developments that improved the appearance and sensory properties of new sweeteners and ingredients. The proportion of new confectionery products that are sugar-free is beginning to show signs of stagnation, Innova suggested.
The company also noted that the prevalence of sugar-free products varied dramatically between categories. In chocolate confectionery, sugar-free represented just 1% of new launches, while that number increased to 7.5% for sugar confectionery and more than 63% for chewing gum.
Fears over the health impact of sugar consumption and concerns over the safety of some artificial sweeteners should give a major boost to plant-based natural sweeteners, and the development of new sweetener systems is already improving taste profiles.
Innova director of innovation Lu Ann Williams said: “Formulation problems and the bitter after-taste of stevia are felt to have held back product activity in some instances, but some sectors have found this less of an issue, particularly liquorice sweets and medicated confectionery, and improved formulations are now being introduced to allow more products in other areas.”
“The confectionery industry has been perhaps slower to take on stevia sweeteners than originally forecast and it remains to be seen how take-up will develop over the next few years.”
The figures in brief:
Sugar-free lines accounted for less than 7% of global confectionery launches in 2014. Just over 1% of introductions featured stevia as an ingredient. The US market is leading the way with sugar-free accounting for 11%. Uptake of stevia is twice the global average, featuring in 2.6% of new products.
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