Watch this week: Explore better-for-you trends in beverage, including low- and no-sugar, in upcoming FoodNavigator-USA webinar

04-Sep-2024 - Last updated on 16-Sep-2024 at 14:19 GMT

Source: William Reed

As the US functional beverage market expands, consumers are looking for more from their drinks – including energy to fuel their activities, added electrolytes to support hydration and vitamins to boost their immunity as well as emotional and mental support from stress-reducing botanicals, mood-managing adaptogens and brain-boosting nutrients.

The exception to the more-is-better ethos adopted by many beverage buyers is sugar.

According to the International Food Information Council’s most recent Food & Health Survey, 76% of consumers want to limit or avoid sugars – which is up from 72% the year before. This includes 66% who say they are limiting sugar and 11% who say they try to avoid sugars entirely. According to IFIC, the main reasons consumers are avoiding sugar is to improve their diet in general, avoid weight gain and prevent future health conditions, the last of which is up significantly in the last two years from 35% to 42%.

But meeting consumer demand for low- and no-sugar beverages is not as easy as simply ditching the ingredient or swapping in an alternative sweetener, according to research by the Hartman Group, which found the “category is a key consideration when it comes to desired claims.”

For example, the consumer research group found when choosing functional beverages, 62% of shoppers seek low sugar but 63% also seek no artificial sweeteners.

Consumers also are unwilling to compromise taste and experience, much of which traditionally has hinged on sugar as a way to mask off-notes from trending functional ingredients or to modulate mouthfeel by creating a sensation of round indulgence or crisp refreshment.

In FoodNavigator-USA’s upcoming one-hour, free editorial webinar Low and no-sugar beverages: From soda 2.0 to flavored waters on Sept. 18 at 11 CT we explore how beverage brands can find the sweet spot between meeting consumers’ wellness goals and their organoleptic expectations.

In a conversation moderated by FoodNavigator-USA’s Senior Editor Elizabeth Crawford, a cross-category panel of experts will share what consumers want when it comes to beverages, including how they perceive sugar and sweeteners and how their expectations vary by category, usage occasion and functional benefits. They also explore the extent to which different functional benefits may amplify or offset concerns about sugar and sweeteners, and how other macro-trends, like clean label, influence consumer opinions about sugar and sweeteners.

Our esteemed panel includes: