Natural sweeteners are rapidly increasing in popularity not only with household consumers, but with food and beverage manufacturers. Especially we are seeing Stevia and Erythritol being used in "low sugar" beverages such as carbonated drinks, cocktails, smoothies, sweet teas and coffees, flavoured water, and sweetened juices.
One of the most commonly used natural sweeteners, Stevia saw use within the beverage sector increase from 36% in 2016 to 40% in 2021 according to Statista. The sugar-free products market is expected to reach $65.31 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 6.2% from 2022–2029, according to some research, and the beverage sector is a significant contributor to this trend.
At home our customers use Liquid Stevia Drops to sweeten plain milk (our kids especially love Caramel!), milk shakes and smoothies, as well as in coffee and tea. Our Monk Fruit Blend is also fantastic when used to sweeten tea or coffee as it has a slight caramel flavour to it.
While Classic Blend and Premium Blend are great as 1:1 sugar substitutes, we find that Icing not Sugar is in fact better for beverages as it the fine powder is more water soluble. We also make nice syrups out of Xylitol and Premium Blend as it has a fresh sweet taste that goes well in any kind of drink.
Given their sugar-like feel the most commonly used non-sugar sweeteners used in the commercial beverage sector are the artificial ones such as Acesulfame K (950), Sucralose (955), and Aspartame (951). Saccharin (954) is also used in combination with natural products like Steviol glycosides (960), or in most cases combined with added sugar. Yes, they taste great but they may not be the best choice.
Important to our customers is the fact that sweetnz® products are natural and sweet - containing no artificial or synthetic ingredients and no refined sugars. Our products are 100% natural and can be consumed with confidence.
The main drivers behind the trend toward No Sugar and Low Sugar is of course our concern with what we eat and drink. Increasingly we are concerned about our health and the health of those we provide for. The New Zealand Health Survey 2020/21 found that: around 1 in 3 adults (aged 15 years and over) were classified as obese* (34.3%), up from 31.2% in 2019/20.
We should all do our part to change this alarming trend, and Sugar Free Foods is proud to play at least some part to improve our nation's health.
Check out our products in the Online Store, or look at some tasty Recipes.
