The Growing Prominence of Alternate Sweeteners in the Food and Beverage Market
OutlineSugar-free products broadly mean and interpreted as – ‘the products that do not contain CANE – SUGAR and are made/sweetened with – sugar alternate raw material which contributes same sweetness but with low or no-calorie.
India’s Food Sweetener Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 1.1% during the forecast period of (2019-2024). India is the second-largest producer and the largest consumer of sugar in the world. There is a rising prevalence of diabetes, obesity, and cardiac diseases, due to high consumption of sugar-based products. This, in turn, is augmenting the demand for sweeteners.Artificial sweeteners are experiencing high demand due to changing regulatory environment and permission for using sweeteners in dairy products, beverages, bakery, biscuits, sweets and confectionery.
With growing awareness of the link between diet and health problem of obesity, consumer concern over sugar levels in the diet is forcing a worldwide trend towards cutting down on sugar. The shift away from sugar is still years away but a trend towards low-calorie sweeteners is occurring. The world is turning, to artificial sweeteners and substitutes. The market for sugar substitutes is being fuelled globally by new-age safe sweeteners. The need of the hour is natural sweeteners.
India has the dubious distinction of being called the diabetic capital of the world – but also the capital of obesity and heart diseases. Hence, greatest challenge that the sweetener market in India faces in trying to expand the user base is the resistance Indians have to change from what has essentially been their way of life for centuries – even though when the issue is health-related.
The sweetener market in India today stands at approximately Rs.150 crores with a double-digit growth. This is miniscule, looking into the number of diabetics and pre-diabetics in India. With the changing regulatory scenario allowing the use of sweeteners in everyday consumables, the market is bound to grow but gradually. With the entry of new and safer molecules, the artificial sweetener industry in India could witness large volumes. Increasing awareness and endorsements by culinary experts and cine personalities would certainly help the Indian diabetic population to opt for alternate sweeteners.
In India, you will find 4 major types of artificial sweeteners that are currently selling. These are Saccharine, Aspartame, Sucralose and Stevia.
A huge untapped market lies in the usage of alternate sweeteners in the food and beverage market. Beverages are the biggest market for sugar alternates, but many products such as bars, yogurt, and baked goods also benefit from low-calorie substitutes. Formulators developing food or beverage with a natural sugar alternate must take note of consumer expectation of sweet products, including mouthfeel, texture, and after taste.
It is difficult for an Indian to resist his penchant for sweet food. With increasingly safer options available that promise better taste with fewer calories, we can be sure that our love for sweetmeats is going to stay. Undoubtedly, the Indian market for natural alternate sweeteners is bound to expand. Pharma majors are eyeing this category and are keen to add sweeteners to their diabetic product portfolios. The industry is discovering more options and looking forward to introducing newer and safer alternatives for the healthy-minded consumers who can look forward to sweeter days ahead.
Sugar-alternate solutions for F&B industryThe COVID pandemic has had some long-term learning for the average consumer. This is evident from the new products launched by the food industry seeing rising demand for healthy sugar-free or low-calorie products. Sugar is an empty carbohydrate and inflammatory for the human body, which hampers the immune system in the long run.
The COVID-induced lockdown had reduced physical activity by more than half, and it has also prompted most health-conscious customers to turn to low-calorie or sugar-free food.
Sensing this new-found demand segment, the food industry is rushing to launch low-calorie, sugar-free products. The launches are much across product lines in both the snacks as well as health and wellness segments.
For some snacking quick bites, Mondelez has launched Cadbury Dairy chocolates with 30 percent less sugar and Bournvita Biscuits. In the ready-to-drink beverages segment, ITC has come up with B Natural plus that has vitamin additives and Marico has added Immuni Veda, turmeric, and onion concoction, to its product portfolio.
Covid has accentuated the morbidity problem. If you have borderline diabetes that is 110 levels and if you are detected with covid then diabetes shoots up to a level where one needs to take insulin. So, FMCG companies are capturing the opportunity to launch sugar-free products.
In fact sugar alternates are in great demand nowadays as people are personally for all health reasons are turning towards them. World Health Organization recommends 5–6 spoons (25 gms) of free sugar per day, but overall in the world, we all surpass the limit per capita; USA 126 gms, Germany 102 gms, UK Australia 93 gms, China and India are the least one 60 gms (Source 2016 Statista.com).
Vikas Patil, Founder Director, Food & Nutrition Business Unit, Mirtillo International stated that sugar reduction or replacement is needed now and education on sweetener use can go a long way in preparing Indian consumers for the slight differences in taste and mouthfeel compared to sugar, and in turn, convince them to increase sweetener uptake and realize how much free sugar we should eat per day and how it harms the overall health of an individual.
“We have become sugar addict and can’t escape now as Taste is King where we can’t compromise”, he said.
Chocolates, cakes, candy, and jams are part of daily celebrations or food habits loaded with sugar almost 35-60% sometimes more than that. Then we found beverages like juices, soft drinks, and lassi attract 8-15% sugar, Ice cream, and frozen desserts 12-18%.
Mirtillo International provides solutions on sugar replacements and reductions without compromising Taste. “Mostly we offer 1:1 replacement so that existing recipes or formulations with sugar remain the same and the process flow of any manufacturer. That makes hassle-free replacement or reduction in sugar” he explained and, “We have to replace just the total quantity of sugar with our offerings. We have developed solutions for 30% sugar reduction, 50% sugar reductions, and 100% replacements for entire food applications from 6% to almost 100% sugar.”
Indians are moving towards a healthier lifestyle, a necessity borne out of the awareness around health & fitness today. With obesity, anxiety, depression, and other diseases occurring due to horrid eating habits, the nation has come to accept the need to chuck the junk and sweets out of our lives has become apparent. To cater to the requisite, Indians are willing to pay a premium if need be.
Enters Stevia – a naturally occurring sweetener and sugar substitute extracted from the leaves of the plant species Stevia Rebaudiana, native to South America. It is nearly 200 times the sweetness of sugar, is heat-stable, pH-stable, and not fermentable.
Parag Dubey, Director Sales-South Asia – PureCircle informed that, PureCircle deals in natural sweetener “Stevia”. This is a plant-based, natural, zero-calorie sugar alternate that is safe & healthy for everyone. There are over 50 steviol glycosides identified in the leaf. Each has its own sweetness quality & equivalence.
Stevia’s taste has a slower onset and longer duration than that of sugar and being almost zero calories with natural anti-oxidants, Stevia can be used as a healthy substitute in most sugar applications, including baking and cooking since it is inherently and naturally heat stable.
PureCircle with its research background has created blends using different glycosides to meet customer needs for sugar-like taste with zero-calorie. PureCircle blends can cater to customer requirements for different levels of sugar reduction (25%, 50%, and No Added Sugar) with customized solutions.
The new generation of India is becoming more “Calorie Conscious” and thus consumer demand for Low-Calorie/No–Sugar Foods is increasing. The new generation health suggestion guidelines by WHO include the recommendations of moderate intake of sugar. This enhances the use of products sweetened with Sucralose. It reduces the calorie and thus helps in achieving /controlling the goal of reducing the sugar from the diet.Low Calorie Sweeteners or New Generation Diabetic Fit Zero-calorie Sweetener and Sugar Substitute is the answer to the ‘Sweet Tooth India Population’ which consumes world’s highest sugar in domestic consumption
Ganesh Singh, CEO, Sweetener India said, “Our company ‘Sweetener India’ is the largest single window sweetener company of the country, supporting medium, small and large food companies for the manufacturing of products with an alternate sweetener solutions in the form of Formulations, R&D, and providing raw material from the top global companies of the world for natural, artificial, and bulk sweeteners since the year 2010.
Sweetener India produces JK Sucralose, HSWT Aspartame – FRANCE, Fuso MALIC – JAPAN, Sweegen Stevia-USA, Neotame, Acesulfame k, Erythritol, Maltitol, Xylitol, Polydextrose, etc.
Dr. Vinay Kumar Putta, Ecovitals Lifestyle Products Pvt Ltd highlighted that sugar is a key ingredient in the food industry and sugar has been the source of various health issues like diabetes, obesity, cancer, and various other ill effects, hence there is definitely a growing demand for sugar alternates. But advent of artificial sweeteners also had their own causes for health issues.
He added that Ecovitals Lifestyle Products Private Ltd are into manufacturing stevia-based tabletop sweeteners.
Since 2009, there has been a major development in the sweetener market with the approval of Stevia from USFDA. Stevia has more than hundreds of years of history for human usage and after thorough research, USFDA approved the use of Stevia as a sweetener and classified it under the GRAS category (Generally Recommended as Safe). Subsequently, other food regulators such as ESFA, WHO, FSSAI, etc. approved the use of stevia as a sweetener. Unlike artificial sweeteners and sugar, Stevia is healthy and safe for human consumption. It’s a zero-calorie and zero glycemic indexed sweetener. Hence it’s an ideal replacement for sugar and artificial sweeteners. Are artificial sweeteners good on long-term consumption for humans?Artificial sweeteners have been increasingly preferred over table sugar by the ‘health-conscious’ because they have virtually no calories. While a teaspoon of sugar contains 16 calories, and a can of cola can contain eight teaspoons of sugar, it is understandable why these sugar substitutes score over the real thing.
Yet, artificial sweeteners have been constantly subjected to intense scrutiny over their possible health risks. While research is divided on their negatives, what’s undisputed is that they are ‘artificial’, that is chemically manufactured molecules.
In 1960-1995 Sugar was the most selling ingredient on shelves of FMCGs retail formats; globally all multinationals made a huge success with sugar-based products; naturally more the fat and more the sugar we will get tasty product; that’s secret found by many companies. In 1995, Japan started using Stevia as a sugar replacement, USA started sucralose, ACK, Neotame all artificial sweeteners suddenly found that sugar is a sweet poison which is causing world over-biased.
Then in 2010, people realized that artificial high intensity sweeteners and consumption of alcohols also have some impact on health, so shifted to natural sources like stevia, thaumatin, monk fruit, licorice extract etc.
“If we observe, sugar is never a healthy option from 1965 till date then why we are talking replacements are not healthy. I think it’s a continuous journey where humankind understanding sugar replacement is must and most needed. Sugar addiction is more than alcohol. So we need to do more research and find safe ways”, elucidated Vikas Patil.
Coming back to myths all food governing bodies like EFSA, USFDA, FSSAI has declared timely draft on every sugar replacements with safety limits on consumption or lots of universities across world published articles, patents for various sugar replacements which are completely safe for humankind.
“I think we need to understand that if we are not accepting sugar is the most deadly thing and just ignoring, then we need to at least come down to WHO recommendation first like 5-6 spoons of free sugar per day; that’s the best solution I guess if we are not confident on science of sugar replacements. I feel all sugar replacements are safe for consumption as per all food authorities of each country. We need to educate industry which suits the best for the particular product”, further argued Patil.
Parag Dubey stressed that sweeteners are safe, nonetheless at the same, there is definitely a growing concern overuse of artificial sweeteners and consumer trends have indicated an inclination towards natural ingredients and clean labels.
“But Stevia’s growing popularity is a clear signal of its acceptance by consumers for being no caloric, natural, and available safety regarding its metabolic fate. It doesn’t get absorbed or interact in the human body. There are a number of published toxicological and long-term clinical studies to prove steviol glycosides are safe for consumption across different age groups, gender & ethnicity, explained Dubey.
According to Ganesh Singh, WHO and all of the global health organizations have declared sugar as harmful and the new WHO Sugar Guidelines recommends 30 gms sugar / as a maximum limit for all adults throughout life and it’s a fact which is 100 percent known to all of us. A similar limit is for any other ingredients like salt or oil. There is always a safety level of ingredients with a consideration of living the healthy full life span of a human being.
Global research for over 30 years has found alternate sweeteners safe with a prescribed daily allowable limit and intake. Rather sugar intake can be controlled only if we are taking the support of alternate sweeteners in our daily life. Balancing sugar and sweeteners together is a need of time and a healthy lifestyle can only be achieved if we limit the use of sugar and sweeteners both.
“Actually, alternate sugar solutions provide you an opportunity for balancing and controlling the use of sugar which is definitely harmful… So, in my opinion, these ingredients support our healthy lifestyle which can’t be addressed without sweetness’ added on Singh.
Dr. Vinay Kumar Putta said that Stevia has a history of human usage for more than hundreds of years. It’s a traditional and tribal knowledge of the South American tribes which has been leveraged by the world today. The research on stevia usage dates back to 1899 and more explicitly from 1931. After detailed research and study on long-term implications, USFDA approved the usage of stevia only in 2009 and this was followed by the approval of stevia by other regulators.
Stevia is classified under the GRAS category (Generally Recommended as Safe) for human usage. In fact, the clean extract with glycosides contains more than 95% is approved by the regulators instead of the direct leaf usage, citing possible allergen and contamination concerns. There are research articles that also cite other health benefits of stevia extract on human consumption. Based on the research and clinical studies conducted, we can conclude that stevia is absolutely safe for human consumption.
R&D to counterpart the taste of sugar-free with sugar
Vikas Patil agreed that sugar-alternatives of various types do not match the exact taste of sugar and leaves a little bit of unpleasant mouth feel later.
He added, “True, we can’t match 100% sugar. We can reach near to sugar replacement or reduction where we can reduce our calories or harmful impacts”.
Sugar is not only the best clean sweetener but also contributes shelf- life to product, body texture and flavour enhancement to any product that we add. “But due to extensive research, we are trying to match sugar in all terms like sweetness, shelf-life, texture, body, mouthfeel, and flavour with same taste and process. We have started with Ice creams, Indian sweets like Rasgulla, Gulab Jamun, Peda, Kaju katli, Soan papdi etc.; this year we are shifting to bakery and chocolates, milk shakes, lassi, etc. Our next immediate target is on jams, candies, and soft drinks”, explicated Patil.
Parag Dubey explained that for the best-tasting stevia requires the best leaf and for this PureCircle cultivates its own proprietary varieties of stevia plants which have the most sugar-like taste. The company is also pioneering improved production for greater cost-effectiveness; formulating bespoke sweetener and flavor solutions to deliver exceptional taste profiles; and developing nutrients like antioxidants, proteins, and fibers utilizing the whole stevia plant. PureCircle provides unmatched quality and consistency to ensure optimal product taste on a scale needed by global brands seeking to reduce sugar.
“Talking of stevia, PureCircle has worked towards moving away from first-generation molecules to the latest “RebM”. This molecule has no bitterness, no linger or metallic taste, and a profile very close to sugar. Today PureCircle has made it a commercial reality balancing pricing and yield”, he evaluated.
Ganesh Singh reasoned that sugar-free products can achieve the exact sugar taste, however, it all depends on the formulation of different companies. It’s a matter of choosing the right sweetener in the right combination and our company supports in achieving the perfect sugar taste, without any unpleasant taste… We have done about 8 year’s formulation work on this…
Dr. Vinay Kumar Putta stated that, unlike sugar, most sugar alternates are known to have different palatability. Sugar is readily soluble in saliva and it’s generally known to overpower the base flavors and dominate with its sweetness.
Consumers have mostly got used to this dominant sweet note of sugar. Stevia on other hand is 150 to 400 times sweeter than sugar depending on the type of steviol glycoside (there is more than 9 prominent glycoside in stevia leaves). Given this high sweet intensity of the sweetener, human palates become insensitive and the sweetness is felt as metallic or bitter.
To overcome the taste issue, Stevia is generally blended with a non-nutritive (zero calorie and zero glycemic to low glycemic) diluent such as Erythritol or xylitol or isomalt etc. These diluents are mostly derived from corn and are manufactured through the fermentation process. These diluents are also classified under the GRAS category (Generally Recommended As Safe).
“Most stevia available in the market is a direct blend of stevia and these diluents. Ecovitals on other hand has a proprietary process of re-crystallizing the stevia molecule along with the diluent after a step of purification to remove impurities. Thus we are able to produce better quality stevia compared to the ones available in the market” proudly elucidated Putta.
Total replacement of sugar or percentage-wise deduction, which is better?
Vikas Patil said, “We need to go near to sugar reduction like 30%, 50%, 70%, etc. with the addition of sugar so that we can balance taste and calories both ways also mouthfeel of the original product. This we can do for normal healthy people. But for over-obese, diabetic we need to replace sugar 100%.”FSSAI also initiated a movement called “aaj se thoda kam” a healthy way to express start consuming less sugar, less salt, and less unhealthy fat. To summarize, we need to replace or reduce sugar but we have to consume 25-30 gms per day for sure, added Vikas.
Parag Dubey reasoned that going zero is not always the right way to approach sugar reduction. Taste is the key. Consumers do not compromise on taste. Therefore the right approach is to go gradual, maintain the taste & health balance.
“At PureCircle we have educated our customers to understand this model and successfully reformulated various F&B brands. PureCircle blends can cater to customer requirements for different levels of sugar reduction (25%, 50%, and No Added Sugar) with customized solutions”, he said.
Ganesh Singh said that gradual increase in change of taste can be the right strategy in adapting the products and it matches the taste profile easily.
Dr. Vinay Kumar Putta stated that the sweetener industry has actually taken this approach. In most applications, the product manufacturers replaced part sugar with stevia. However the demand for no added sugar is growing day by day and hence based on consumer preference, manufacturers today are developing products with a complete sugar replacement.
ConclusionSugar substitutes are gaining massive popularity as they contain significantly lighter food energy than sugar-based sweeteners. These low-calorie or zero-calorie sweeteners can be enjoyed guilt-free by weight-conscious and diabetic people. In 2018, the global count of diabetes was 424.9 million people. The IDF (International Diabetes Federation) estimates that the prevalence of diabetes is likely to increase by 9.9% by 2045.
The manifestation of diabetes can be prevented by appropriate measures like lifestyle changes and diet control. The growing health awareness among the masses is leading to skyrocketing demand for sugar substitutes. Moreover, the growing demand for naturally sourced sweeteners will bolster the sugar substitute’s market growth over the forecast period.
In fact reduced sugar consumption and low-calorie intake have been major trends in the past few years. From aspartame to stevia, consumers are looking for ways to alleviate obesity and diabetes. In 2019, approximately 7 million people were using stevia, making it the most commonly used sugar substitute available in the market.
Also, the natural sugar substitutes segment will contribute significantly to the sugar substitute market revenue share and robust growth can be attributed to snowballing health awareness among consumers and growing demand for non-GMO and vegan-based food products.
The rapid proliferation of clean labels such as ‘preservative-free,’ ‘natural,’ ‘non-GMO,’ and ‘organic’ ingredients will boost segmental growth.
And the stevia segment is forecast to witness the highest growth at 7.3% over the analysis period. A report suggests that almost 10,000 new stevia-based food & beverage products have been launched in the past few years, with more than 26% of the launches concentrated on soft drink production.
The food segment accounted for a major chunk of the sugar substitute’s market share in 2019 and this rapid growth is driven by the replacement of sucrose with low-calorie alternatives in food products.
Asia Pacific region is forecast to witness the highest growth of 5.2% through 2027 on account of growing disposable incomes in emerging economies, including India and China, and surging demand for sugar substitutes with a rise in health awareness.