In recent years, there has been a significant shift towards embracing healthier lifestyles and improved nutrition, accelerated by consumers realizing the impact of diet and exercising. This growing awareness is reflected in the importance of doing something good for body and soul!
Sugar Reduction - The rising trend of active lifestyles and overall wellbeing
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Consumers nowadays have deeper understanding that good nutrition and regular physical activity are foundational to preventing chronic diseases, fatigue and burnout, enhancing mental health, and improving the quality of life. Additionally, they are becoming extremely aware of the detrimental health effects associated with high sugar and alcohol consumption. As a result, the demand for food & beverage options which support a healthier and active lifestyle, minimizing sugar intake and can easily be incorporated into daily lives, is growing.
62% of global consumers seek to improve their diet by reducing sugar.1
Recently, the beverage industry has witnessed a paradigm shift towards healthier consumption, with sugar reduction in non-alcoholic beverages taking center stage.
Partnering with Symrise enables to deliver on the growing consumer demand of lowering sugar intake but keeping great tasting beverages, supporting an active and healthy lifestyle without any compromises.
1 Euromonitor Health & Nutrition Survey 2023, n=13.463
Challenges of sugar reduction
Reducing sugar in non-alcoholic beverages is crucial for several consumer-driven reasons, as a high sugar intake is linked to a range of health issues or weight management. Consumers are increasingly looking for solutions to manage an active and balanced lifestyle, while the creation of a great tasting, sugar reduced non-alcoholic beverage includes a balancing act for manufacturers.
Especially, non-alcoholic beverages mark a category which is highly affected and driven by the sugar reduction trend due to growing consumer awareness of their overall health and the causes of high sugar in-take.
Explore the hidden sugar traps in non-alcoholic beverages and their effects on consumers.
High Sugar Content
Beverages are often packed with high amounts of added sugars. These drinks can significantly contribute to daily sugar intake, sometimes without consumers fully realizing it. A single serving can contain more sugar than the recommended daily limit, making beverages a major target in the fight against excessive sugar consumption.
Frequent Consumption
Beverages are consumed multiple times a day by a large portion of the population. Unlike occasional treats, drinks are a regular part of daily routines.
Hidden Sugars
Many beverages marketed as healthy can contain significant amounts of hidden sugars. Consumers may be unaware of the actual sugar content, thinking they are making healthier choices when they are not.
Impact on Children and Adolescents
Beverages are a primary source of sugar for children and adolescents, who are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of high sugar intake. Early consumption patterns can set the stage for lifelong habits, making it essential to address sugar content in beverages to promote healthier futures for younger generations.
Health Consequences
The excessive intake of sugar-laden beverages is linked to a range of health issues, including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and dental problems. Given the direct correlation between sugary drinks and these conditions, reducing sugar in beverages can have a significant impact on public health.
While the sugar reduction trend started some years ago, it is still evolving. It will keep manufacturers busy in the coming years as well, confronting them with the mentioned challenges and consumers, who do not won’t to compromise on taste.
At Symrise, we consider it as a vision to provide consumers with better, more interesting, and fun drinking experiences without guilt or concerns.
Increasing obesity and health issues are mirroring the rising consumer demand for more natural, low-sugared sweetening options and beverages supporting an active and healthy lifestyle. To provide best-in-class solutions and future-fit guidance to manufactures keen to undertake the sugar reduction challenge, Symrise embarks on the ambitious journey to understand & decode sweetness to design great tasting, healthier beverages.
By conducting several consumer studies, Symrise understands the relevance of sugar reduction in beverages and has decoded the ideal level of sweetness. Symrise’s symlife™ taste balancing sweet solutions make good-for-you products taste great when removing sugar, sodium, bad fats, or yeast and enrich with proteins, vitamins or minerals. Optimizing the overall taste profile helps masking off-notes or bitterness while boosting the overall flavor profile in regard to sweetness perception, mouthfeel or sensations.
While sweeteners can close the sweetness intensity gap in sugar reduced products, it takes more than a single substance or a combination of sweeteners to rebalance the sweetness profile and overall sweet taste dynamics. The entire taste dynamics must be considered – from onset and mouthfeel, to the masking of lingering aftertaste. It is here that Symrise’s tailored symlife™ taste balancing solutions help to rebalance the overall taste profile, aligned to each manufacturer’s unique needs.
Source: Symrise symlife™ Taste balancing Sweet Onepager
