Concern over sugar intake and interest in sugar reduction is driving an increasingly sophisticated approach to sweetening food and beverages with a focus on three parallel areas: natural sweeteners, less sweetening and no sweetness.
Innova Market Insights’ latest Ingredient Insider report analyzes trends in sugar reduction and the use of sweeteners in food and beverages. The report includes market and consumer research, new product activity and the use of sugar-related claims in food and beverages.
Efforts to reduce sugar levels are well established and ongoing, reflecting the well-documented link to dental caries as well as the widely held view that high sugar consumption is a causative factor for a range of conditions including weight gain, diabetes and hyperactivity in children. Government intervention in this regard has become more widespread globally, including the use of sugar taxes and the regulation of advertising targeting children.
Four in 10 consumers in Innova’s global Health and Nutrition Survey in 2020 claimed to have decreased their sugar consumption over a 12-month period. The prevention of health conditions was the leading reason given for this reduction, ahead of weight management and followed by dental health.
“In recent years ingredient innovations have enabled manufacturers to better replicate the multiple sensory and functional properties of sugar, including sweetness, mouthfeel, bulk, browning and moisture retention, while lowering the amounts of sugar and calories,” reports Lu Ann Williams, Global Insights Director at Innova Market Insights.
Sweeteners currently include non-nutritive, bulk, reduced-calorie sugars and rare sugars, but ongoing research is likely to discover forms of sugar that can be marketed as natural and offer both formulation and metabolic benefits, while increasingly successfully targeting the high taste expectations of consumers.
As well as NPD activity in sweet ingredients, such as fruits to provide sweetness that does not count towards added sugar on labels, the demand for natural sweeteners like stevia, monk fruit and erythritol is rising in response to consumer demand for clean products and a clean label. These are starting to displace other sweeteners considered to be artificial, reflecting Innova Market Insights’ Top Trend for 2021, “Transparency Triumphs.” Companies are upping their game to tell the story of their product by detailing exact ingredients and origins along with production processes.
Manufacturers are continuing to develop new steviol rebaudioside glycosides with sweetness profiles that better match the taste of sugar. At the same time, new production methods are reducing environmental impact. Blends of ingredients used to replicate the sensory and functional properties of sugar include plant-derived sweet-tasting fibers such as chicory root fiber.
These ingredient mixes will continue to optimize taste, recognizing its vital role as a purchase driver. These can encompass concentrated sweeteners alone, or in combination with fibers and other components that replicate the sensory and functional properties of sugar. Ingredients can be chosen and tailored to match the dietary requirements of consumers, including plant based, vegan and gluten free. They are also likely to offer benefits beyond sweetness, such as better-tolerated fibers and protein fortification.
With an aging population globally, consumers are increasingly looking for solutions that help them to live their lives to the fullest while maintaining high levels of health and wellness regardless of their age.
While 7 out of 10 global consumers in an Innova Consumer Survey said that they had made changes over the past year to improve their health, these changes were not just for physical health, with consumers balancing physical, mental, and emotional aspects. Changes to improve physical wellbeing continued to lead, with 53 % of respondents saying that they had made a change. However, numbers were also significant for consumers saying that they had taken steps to improve mental health and emotional wellbeing (44 % of respondents) and for consumers saying that they had sought more spiritual time (32 % of respondents).
As a result, nutrition that supports both physical and emotional wellbeing is thriving and can target the needs and preferences of different generations with more specific holistic approaches to help identify opportunities and optimize innovation.
Being aged 60+ continues to be redefined, as this age group strives to remain healthier and more active while potentially working until later in their lives than previous generations out of choice or necessity. Future seniors, however, will come from Generation X and Millennials, raised in a different era to the Silent Generation and Boomers who make up the over 60s of today.
Innova’s 2019 research study indicates that 76 % of consumers aged between 26 and 55 years agreed that healthy aging started with what they ate and drank, while 56 % said that they had increased their consumption of functional foods/drinks over the previous year.
Healthy aging claims are starting to appear more regularly on food products and beverages as younger generations prefer functional food & beverages to classic supplement formats. Global research by Innova Market Insights indicates that while 29.7 % of over 55s cited tablets and 26 % cited capsules as their preferred form of intake for supplements in 2019, among those aged 26 to 35 years, nearly 30 % preferred supplements in the form of food products and 27.7 % as beverages, falling slightly to 22.1 % and 25 %, respectively, for those aged 36 to 45.
This presents opportunities to redefine supplements and how they are used, while we are also seeing blurring boundaries between supplements and food/drinks.
It is clear that products with active health claims are increasingly featuring in the marketplace to cater to a variety of needs. Food and beverage launches with active health claims tracked by Innova Market Insights are seeing a growth of +11 % (Global, 2018 vs. 2019). There is a particular focus on healthy aging or aging well, both for seniors and for younger demographics who already engaging with preventative care.
Joint health, energy/alertness, immune health, and bone health are some of the fastest-growing active health claims for global food and beverage launches in recent years as links between particular nutrients and health benefits are increasingly made.
Brain health is another area of growing interest, particularly in terms of aging well, while targeting physical appearance via nutrition and diet is also seeing rapidly rising levels of interest.
On 7th September 2020 at 13:30 BST, Myrthe de Beukelaar, Market Analyst at Innova Market Insights, will present Health & Happiness: a Holistic Approach to Healthy Aging webinar as part of Vitafoods Virtual Expo event. Join Myrthe to learn more about how consumers are increasingly looking for solutions to live their life to the fullest. Register here.
Clearly and successfully communicating sustainability credentials to consumers is key to developments in food and drinks packaging. This benchmark has been crowned by Innova Market Insights as the Top Packaging Trend in 2020. Innova’s consumer research indicates that consumer expectations around sustainability are higher than ever, pushing companies to prioritize eco-efficiency, especially in reducing food and plastic waste. In response, the food industry is increasingly committing to answering a more mindful consumer’s expectations in this area, while marketing this commitment on-pack.
Innova Market Insights continuously analyzes global developments in food and drinks launches and consumer activities to highlight the trends most likely to impact industry over the coming year and beyond. Its top five trends packaging trends for this year are:
1. The language of environmental sustainability
As consumer expectations continue to grow, companies are increasingly using packaging as a canvas to communicate sustainability. Over the 2015 to 2019 period, over one-third of all food and beverage launches tracked by Innova Market Insights carried an ethical packaging claim (e. g. recycled or recyclable materials). A whole range of different avenues can be used for storytelling to communicate packaging sustainability, which encompasses energy use, renewable materials, plastic free, source reduction and end of lifecycle. The use of trust certifications, marks and logos, such as Plastic Free and Metal Recycles Forever, increasingly used to communicate resource circularity.
2. Plastics come full circle
As circular economy targets loom on the horizon, the incorporation of recycled plastics into packaging is on the rise, with PCR (Post Consumer Recycled) supply partnerships and chemcycling tie-ups rising globally across a range of industries. In the meantime, more bottles are hitting the 100 % recycled plastics milestone, while other formats such as trays and pots are playing catch up with increasingly high percentages of PCR material. As suppliers come up with more recycle-ready mono-material solutions, developments such as NEO plastics can increase energy output at landfills. A rising tide of companies are supporting initiatives aimed at mitigating the impact of plastic pollution, particularly ocean clean up.
3. Packing an e-punch
Continuing strong growth in online retail channels with an associated rise in demand for corrugated board is driving e-commerce packaging. Developments in strong, lightweight recyclable boxes made with minimal resources aim to minimize damage during transit, while still offering a unique and engaging unboxing experience for consumers. There is also ongoing activity in sustainable alternatives to single-use protective filler materials, as well as developments offering a reduced carbon footprint.
4. Internet of packaging
As IoT (Internet of Things) technologies become all-pervasive, QR codes, NFC and blockchain are elevating engagement and transparency. Top reasons for scanning include promotions/rewards, interactive content, product authenticity, supply chain transparency and consumer brand engagement. The use of blockchain, for instance, can offer traceability and transparency, while NFC can be a valuable avenue for digital storytelling.
5. Plant-based packaging
There is an increasing focus on developing biodegradable and compostable alternatives from renewable resources. Cellulose-based packaging has been at the forefront of plant-based innovation, but there are numerous developments in biodegradable/compostable initiatives, led by snacks and confectionery, which accounted for over 60 % of global food and drinks launches with certified compostable claims tracked by Innova Market Insights over the 2017 to 2020 period.
Increased consumer interest in the stories behind their food and beverage products and their notable influence on purchasing decisions has resulted in companies increasingly paying attention to storytelling in branding strategies. “Storytelling: Winning with Words” leads the list of Innova Market Insights’ Top Ten Trends for 2020. The top five trends for 2020 are:
1. Storytelling: Winning with Words
Although ingredient provenance has always been important, consumer interest in discovering the story behind their foods has risen further and increasingly influencing purchasing decisions. Consumers’ attention is piqued by opportunities to learn more about how products are produced, which promotes an understanding of product benefits and helps build all-important trust in the brand.
As a result, manufacturers are increasingly focusing on ingredient provenance platforms in order to highlight the taste and quality of their products, as well as their uniqueness and sustainability efforts. Provenance platforms can communicate a whole range of messages to the consumer, including flavor/taste, processing methods, cultural and traditional backgrounds, as well as the more obvious geographical origin.
2. The Plant-Based Revolution
Plant-based innovation in food and beverages continues to flourish as a result of consumer interest in health, sustainability and ethics, which ties into the broader consumer lifestyle trend towards cleaner living. As the use of the term “plant-based” moves more into the mainstream, the industry and start-up companies in particular, are taking up the challenge to deliver more clean label meat and dairy alternatives with improved nutritional profiles.
3. The Sustain Domain
Consumers increasingly expect companies to invest in sustainability, with Innova Market Insights research indicating that 85 % of, on average, US and UK consumers expected companies to invest in sustainability in 2019, up from 64 % in 2018. In the area of food waste, upcycling is the new recycling, as companies strive to follow a zero-waste approach by creating value from by-products. Meanwhile in packaging, the focus is on using less of it, as well as developing sustainable alternatives.
4. The Right Bite
Stress and anxiety are key concerns in modern life as consumers manage careers, families and social lives while striving to maintain healthy lifestyles, both physically and mentally. Responses to this vary, although the majority of consumers aim to balance the benefits and costs of busy lifestyles. This, in turn, raises the demand for nutritious foods that are easy to prepare, convenient and portable.Indulgent treats play a role in relaxation and enjoyment.
5. Tapping into Texture
Last year’s leading trend “Discovery: the adventurous consumer” is still prominent, with consumer demand for something new and different being reflected in more product launches with textural claims. Consumers increasingly recognize the influence of texture on food and beverages, allowing a heightened sensory experience and often a greater feeling of indulgence. According to Innova Market Insights research, 45 % of, on average, US and UK consumers are influenced by texture when buying food and drinks, while 68 % share the opinion that textures contribute to a more interesting food and beverage experience.
The other top trends for 2020 identified by Innova Market Insights are:
6. Macronutrient Makeover
7. Hello Hybrids
8. A Star is Born
9. Eat Pretty
10. Brand Unlimited
