Table of Contents
Overview
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- What you need to know
- Products covered in this Report
Executive Summary
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- The market
- Decline in sugar brings down entire market over 2011-16
- Inflation to affect the market over 2016-21
- Sugar decline to slow, sweeteners to remain static
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- Figure 1: UK retail value sales of sugar, sweeteners and honey, 2011-21
- Government pressure on industry to cut sugar
- Multiple health organisations advise sugar cutbacks
- New advertising rules ban promotion of sugary products to children
- Companies and brands
- Silver Spoon regains position as sugar market leader
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- Figure 2: Leading brands’ share of the UK retail sugar market, by value, 2015/16*
- Own-label grows sales in weak sweeteners market
- Modest growth in low/no/reduced sugar launches
- Stronger activity in drinks
- Artificial sweeteners remain the principal sugar substitute, but use of stevia and honey is growing
- Nestlé announces chocolate breakthrough
- Brands look to associate no-sugar products with enjoyment
- The consumer
- Renewed focus on sugar heightens people’s health concerns
- Concerns about artificial sweeteners also rise
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- Figure 3: Concern about selected ingredients in food and non-alcoholic drink, October 2016
- Ageing population has implications for all sugar-containing products
- Majority of people check product nutritional details in some way
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- Figure 4: Sugar-related behaviours, October 2016
- Reduced sugar soft drinks widely accepted, and opportunities for NPD in breakfast cereals and yogurt
- Portion control focus could be best approach for sweet treat makers
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- Figure 5: Likelihood to buy reduced sugar food and drink products, October 2016
- Consumers are open to a wide range of sugar alternatives
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- Figure 6: Preferred alternatives to refined white sugar, October 2016
- Suspicions over sweeteners could be a barrier to reformulation
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- Figure 7: Attitudes towards sugar and sweeteners in food and drink, October 2016
- Amenability to less sweet tastes offers an opportunity
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- Consumers’ amenability to less sweet tastes allows manufacturers options to cut sugar without replacing
- The facts
- The implications
- Explaining sweeteners could help to overcome concerns over reformulations
- The facts
- The implications
- Consumer openness to a range of sugar alternatives gives companies scope to experiment
- The facts
- The implications
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Decline in sugar brings down entire market over 2011-16
- Inflation to affect the market over 2016-21
- Sugar volume decline to slow, sweeteners to remain static
- Government pressure on industry to cut sugar
- Multiple health organisations advise sugar cutbacks
- New advertising rules ban promotion of sugary products to children
Market Size, Segmentation and Forecast
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- Decline in sugar brings down entire market over 2011-16
- Inflation to push up prices over 2016-21
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- Figure 8: UK retail value sales of sugar, sweeteners and honey, 2011-21
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- Figure 9: UK retail value sales of sugar, sweeteners and honey, 2011-21
- Table-top sugar
- Health concerns push down sugar volume sales over 2011-16
- White sugar feels the principal impact of consumer cutbacks
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- Figure 10: UK retail value and volume sales of sugar, by segment, 2015 and 2016
- Sugar decline to slow over 2016-21
- Multiple factors determine sugar prices
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- Figure 11: UK retail value sales of sugar, 2011-21
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- Figure 12: UK retail value sales of sugar, 2011-21
- Sweeteners
- Deflation negates effects of modest sweetener volume growth in 2016
- Rising production costs to make sweetener values edge up over 2016-21
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- Figure 13: UK retail value sales of sweeteners, 2011-21
- Figure 14: UK retail value sales of sweeteners, 2011-21
- Honey
- Honey’s health halo sees it gain strength as a sugar alternative over 2011-16
- Honey volume sales growth to run out of steam over 2016-21
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- Figure 15: UK retail value sales of honey, 2011-21
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- Figure 16: UK retail value sales of honey, 2011-21
- Forecast methodology
Market Drivers
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- Government sets industry targets to cut sugar by 20% by 2020
- Soft Drinks Levy to hit the soft drinks industry
- Potential for the tax to have wider implications
- EFSA rules make it difficult to make low-sugar claims
- Multiple health organisations advise sugar cutbacks
- WHO advises restricting certain naturally occurring sugars as well as added sugars
- British Dental Association advises parents to reduce sugar in their children’s diets
- National Diet and Nutrition Survey says average sugar consumption remains too high
- New rules ban companies from advertising sugary products to children
- Sugar-scanning app proves popular with consumers
- New Change4Life app targets parents’ health concerns
- Ageing population likely to limit sales of all products with sugar
Companies and Brands – What You Need to Know
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- Silver Spoon regains position as sugar market leader
- Own-label grows sales in weak sweeteners market
- Modest growth in L/N/R sugar launches
- Stronger activity in drinks
- Artificial sweeteners remain the principal sugar substitute, but use of stevia and honey is growing
- Nestlé announces chocolate breakthrough
- Brands look to associate no-sugar products with enjoyment
Market Share
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- Sugar
- Silver Spoon returns as market leader
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- Figure 17: UK retail sales of sugar, by leading brands, 2013/14-2015/16
- Figure 18: UK retail sales of sugar, by leading manufacturers, 2013/14-2015/16
- Billington’s buoys up sales through emphasis on its unrefined nature
- Tate & Lyle loses out to Silver Spoon and own-label
- Sweeteners
- Own-label strengthens position in weak sweeteners market
- Silver Spoon bucks negative trend for brands
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- Figure 19: UK retail sales of sweeteners, by leading brands, 2013/14-2015/16
- Figure 20: UK retail sales of sweeteners, by leading manufacturers, 2013/14-2015/16
Launch Activity and Innovation
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- Modest growth in L/N/R sugar claims in 2016
- Stronger activity in drinks
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- Figure 21: Share of food and non-alcoholic drink product category launches carrying an L/N/R sugar claim, by category (sorted by 2015)^, 2011-16
- Soft drinks brands take differing approaches to reducing sugar
- Major brands reformulate and withdraw sugary variants
- Tesco reformulates own-label soft drinks and delists brands
- Brands’ increased emphasis on lack of sugar helps drive growth in L/N/R sugar CSD launches
- CCE extends into other drinks categories
- AG Barr creates zero-sugar Irn-Bru variant
- Fruit juices put stronger emphasis on lack of added sugars
- Nestlé announces chocolate breakthrough
- Friesland Campina launches no-added-sugar Yazoo
- Waitrose moves to cut sugar in its breakfast cereals
- Yogurt brands vary in their approach to cutting sugar
- Müller reformulates and Yoplait expands its low-sugar offering
- Arla turns to fruit/vegetable blends
- Artificial sweeteners remain the primary sugar substitute
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- Figure 22: L/N/R sugar food and non-alcoholic drink launches, by ingredients^, 2011-16
- Strong growth in use of stevia
- Continued growth in soft drinks
- Napolina substitutes sugar with stevia in pasta sauces
- Honey’s natural health halo drives rise in launches
- Sweet food brands look to offer reassurance on sweeteners
Advertising and Marketing Activity
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- Brands look to associate no-sugar drinks and food with pleasure
- CSD brands focus on taste
- Robinsons links sugar avoidance with childhood adventures
- Promoting abstention with No Added Sugar Days
- Friesland Campina gives parents permission with No Sugar Yazoo
- Danone Light & Free promotes care-free image
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Renewed focus on sugar heightens people’s health concerns
- Concerns about artificial sweeteners also rise
- Ageing population has implications for all sugar-containing products
- Majority of people check product nutritional details in some way
- Reduced sugar soft drinks widely accepted, and opportunities for NPD in breakfast cereals and yogurt
- Portion control focus could be best approach for sweet treat makers
- Consumers are open to a wide range of sugar alternatives
- Suspicions over sweeteners could be a barrier to reformulation
- Amenability to less sweet tastes offers an opportunity
Concerns about Ingredients in Food and Non-alcoholic Drink
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- Renewed government and media focus heightens consumers’ sugar concerns
- Concerns over artificial sweeteners linger despite EFSA assurances
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- Figure 23: Concern about selected ingredients in food and non-alcoholic drink, October 2016
- Ageing population has implications for all sugar-containing products
Sugar-related Behaviours
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- Majority of people check nutritional details in some way
- L/N/R sugar labels can appeal even to those who do not check labels
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- Figure 24: Sugar-related behaviours, October 2016
- Media coverage of sugar in savoury foods affects consumer behaviour
- Opportunities for expansion in reduced sugar table and cooking sauces
- Changed buying behaviour especially likely among parents of young children
- Appeal of no-added-sugar label drives change in snacking habits
Likelihood to Buy Reduced Sugar Food and Drink Products
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- Soft drinks levy and familiarity enhance appeal of reduced sugar soft drinks
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- Figure 25: Likelihood to buy reduced sugar food and drink products, October 2016
- Reduced sugar breakfast cereals have strong chance to appeal
- Also strong opportunities for reduced sugar yogurts
- Focus on portion control could be best approach for sweet treat makers
Preferred Alternatives to Refined White Sugar
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- Consumer openness gives companies scope to explore a range of substitutes
- Honey’s natural health halo boosts its appeal
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- Figure 26: Preferred alternatives to refined white sugar, October 2016
- Plant-derived sweeteners benefit from their associations with nature
Attitudes towards Sugar and Sweeteners in Food and Drink
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- No-added-sugar label appeals more than low/reduced sugar
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- Figure 27: Attitudes towards sugar and sweeteners in food and drink, October 2016
- Consumers’ suspicion of sweeteners a potential barrier to reformulation
- Consumer openness to less sweet tastes gives options to cut sugar without replacing
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
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- Abbreviations
- Consumer research methodology
Appendix – Market Size and Forecast
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- Figure 28: Best- and worst-case forecasts for retail value sales of sugar, sweeteners and honey, 2016-21
- Figure 29: Best- and worst-case forecasts for retail value sales of sugar, 2016-21
- Figure 30: Best- and worst-case forecasts for retail value sales of sweeteners, 2016-21
- Figure 31: Best- and worst-case forecasts for retail value sales of honey, 2016-21
- Forecast Methodology
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Appendix – Launch Activity and Innovation
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- Figure 32: Share of product category launches carrying an L/N/R sugar claim, by category (sorted by 2015), 2011-16
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