US sweetener market continues to evolve
Sugar and corn sweeteners, particularly high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), continue to dominate the overall sweetener market, accounting for over 95 percent of demand in volume terms and more than 85 percent of dollar demand. However, the market for alternative sweeteners has reached $1.1 billion and continues to increase its share of sweetener consumption. The leading products are the high intensity sweeteners aspartame and sucralose, as well as sorbitol, the leading polyol. All of these products are expected to maintain prominent market positions, but faster growth is expected in so-called second generation polyols such as xylitol and erythritol, and for some natural alternatives such as agave nectar and stevia.
Efforts to build on previous sweetener successes
To date, the great successes for alternative sweeteners have been in diet soft drinks, sugarless gum, and tabletop uses.Diet soft drinks have gained a third of the market in large part because aspartame and ace-k have found consumer favor. Sugarless gum now outsells sugared gum, as blends of polyols and high-intensity sweeteners such as sucralose can be combined to provide the right combination of bulk, texture and sweetness. The tabletop segment has long been receptive to alternative sweeteners. Saccharin retains a presence there, long after being eclipsed by aspartame. More recently, sucralose has become the dominant sweetener in the tabletop market, although polyols and natural alternatives are also beginning to increase their market presence.
Health, dietary concerns drive sweetener demand
Obesity and diabetes are the main reasons that artificial sweeteners such as saccharin first emerged as viable products decades ago. Since then, a number of other concerns have improved market prospects for alternative products. Although the feverish hype surrounding low-carb diets has subsided, low-carb products remain popular, and sugar has become a prime target for carbohydrate reduction, creating market opportunities for alternative sweeteners. A renewed focus on natural foods has opened the door for products such as agave nectar and stevia, as consumers wary of artificial sweeteners seek viable alternatives to refined sugar and HFCS.
Quest for a perfect sweetener
The perfect sweetener remains elusive. A product that has a clean, sweet taste with no aftertaste, is noncaloric, has no negative health effects, is inexpensive and can be used equally well in baking, coffee, soft drinks and other applications is still nonexistent. Every sweetener product, conventional or alternative, offers one or more of these attributes. But none offers the total package.
For More information kindly visit http://www.bharatbook.com/
