Wild launches healthy sweetener logo
on products containing its fruit-based sweetener, claiming it
would allowing them to promote the health benefits
of a natural low glycemic index (GI) sugar alternative.
The logo could help food firms with their marketing strategies, as companies featuring it on labels and packaging will help catch the eye of health-conscious consumers worried about additives and sugar.
The logo is part of Wild's move to allow manufacturers to use Fruit Up as an "ingredient brand", the company said.
Fruit Up, a natural sweetener made totally from fruits include apples, pears, grapes and oranges, was first launched on the market in August for ice-cream, confectionery and beverage products.
As well as being additive free, Fruit Up also has a low glycemic index (GI), thanks to the product's broad range of different sugars such as fructose, glucose and sucrose, the company claimed.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), The GI measures how quickly certain foods release carbohydrates into the body, which then raise consumers' blood glucose levels.
High GI foods cause blood sugar levels to rise more rapidly, and can therefore lead to diabetes and heart disease.
"The GI of Fruit Up is below 35," Wild said.
"This fruit sweetener therefore makes a better contribution to a healthy diet than other natural sweeteners."
According to Global Industry Analysts, obesity and health concerns are fuelling a 3.7 per cent compound annual growth rate in the artificial sweeteners market, currently valued at $3.5bn (€2.4bn).
The most popular category on the market is currently the range of sucralose artificial sweeteners, which will most likely hit the $3bn (€2bn) mark in 2008, expanding its 50 per cent hold of the global market.
However, many food and beverage companies around the world are steering towards natural sweeteners, often make with fructose, to try and promote their products as being good for human health, Global Industry Analysts said.
Wild is a Germany-based, privately owned supplier of natural flavour ingredients for the food and beverage industry, and its product range includes flavour systems, flavours and extracts and fruit and vegetable preparations.
The company also produces colours, concentrates, sweetening systems and speciality ingredients such as functional flavours and flavour keys.
