Sugar-Free Candy Companies Need A Wake-Up Call
A new report released today by a consumer market research company named Packaged Facts shows the impact livin' la vida low-carb has had on the candy market since 2000.
The improvements being made in artificial sweeteners in recent years has contributed to this increase in sales, the report states. Whereas poor-tasting products have traditionally dominated sugar-free candies in the past, the new products that have been sold to consumers recently offer a better choice of flavors, texture, and overall appearance which resonates with the diabetic and low-carb consumer.
From 2000 to 2004, the sales of sugar-free candies quadrupled while new reduced-sugar products introduced to the marketplace have tripled.
Many of these products, especially soft drinks, are sweetened with products such as saccharin (Sweet 'N Low), sucralose (Splenda), aspartame (Nutrasweet) and acesulfame-K (ACE-K). Others are sweetened with sugar alcohols like maltitol and lactitol which have been well-documented to cause gastric distress in many consumers.
People who are livin' la vida low-carb are well aware that they need to stay away from sugar alcohols, although it is almost impossible to avoid them altogether. Russell Stover exclusively uses maltitol in their low-carb and sugar-free products and have established themselves as the far and away leader in the diet candy market.
But they are going to have to make a hard decision very soon about the future of their products as people like myself cannot handle the side effects that come with maltitol. I LOVE what Russell Stover has to offer, but there are better sweeteners, such as erithrytol, which are just as effective and do not cause the problems that maltitol does. Maybe companies like Russell Stover need a wake-up call from people to realize they need to change sweeteners. Why not express your concerns to them directly?
Erythritol is currently found in Z-Carb chocolate bars and even in the one-carb version of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. The sooner companies realize that we need erithyritol in our sugar-free candies, the more successful their business will be over the long term.
But apparently that is not a concern to the big candy companies right now because business is booming. Is it going to take an overwhelming outcry from earnest low-carb and diabetic consumers to convince them that we want and need them to change their sweetener? This is the exact same dilemma that the soda companies had to contend with before finally giving us what we wanted this year.
Acquisitions Editor for Packaged Facts Don Montuori states the "low-carb craze revved up and perhaps overheated the [diet candy] market" over the past few years, but he believes it will long outlast any diet plan out there today.
He's got to be kidding. Is he so delusional to think that sugar-free products would be selling as well as they are right now if it wasn't for low-carb? He even admits the impact low-carb consumers have had on the market, but thinks it will be sustained without the help of low-sugar dieters. Yeeeeaaaaaaahhhhh. Riiiigggght. Take away low-carbers and your market is diabetics only, buddy. Try keeping up with your sales quotas then and we'll see how long you stay in business!
Montuori acknowledged the "positive consumer recognition" of Splenda as opposed to the tanking public opinion of Nutrasweet. But even products that carry the Splenda logo need to be carry examined to make sure they don't have those nasty sugar alcohols in them that I mentioned earlier. It's a little bait and switch tactic I've noticed companies like to implore. They blare on the front of the product "SWEETENED WITH SPLENDA," but then don't tell you the primary sweetener is maltitol. You don't notice it until you stomach starts getting knots in it several minutes after eating one of these innocent-looking products! BIG mistake!
Russell Stover owns 37 percent of the sales of diet candy, followed by Hershey at 14 percent, Atkins Nutritionals at 12 percent, and Kraft at 9 percent. Overall sales of diet candy in 2004 reached a mind-boggling $495 million! That's nowhere near the sales of sugar-filled candy, but the tremendous rate of growth of this market proves there is a strong consumer demand out there for quality candies for people watching their sugar intake.
One final thought: If you want a copy of this 100-page report on diet candy, it's gonna cost you almost $2000. At that price, it should be made of sugar-free chocolate! Read a page, eat a page, read a page, eat a page. Yummy! Just make sure it has erithyritol in it, okay? :-)
The improvements being made in artificial sweeteners in recent years has contributed to this increase in sales, the report states. Whereas poor-tasting products have traditionally dominated sugar-free candies in the past, the new products that have been sold to consumers recently offer a better choice of flavors, texture, and overall appearance which resonates with the diabetic and low-carb consumer.
From 2000 to 2004, the sales of sugar-free candies quadrupled while new reduced-sugar products introduced to the marketplace have tripled.
Many of these products, especially soft drinks, are sweetened with products such as saccharin (Sweet 'N Low), sucralose (Splenda), aspartame (Nutrasweet) and acesulfame-K (ACE-K). Others are sweetened with sugar alcohols like maltitol and lactitol which have been well-documented to cause gastric distress in many consumers.
People who are livin' la vida low-carb are well aware that they need to stay away from sugar alcohols, although it is almost impossible to avoid them altogether. Russell Stover exclusively uses maltitol in their low-carb and sugar-free products and have established themselves as the far and away leader in the diet candy market.
But they are going to have to make a hard decision very soon about the future of their products as people like myself cannot handle the side effects that come with maltitol. I LOVE what Russell Stover has to offer, but there are better sweeteners, such as erithrytol, which are just as effective and do not cause the problems that maltitol does. Maybe companies like Russell Stover need a wake-up call from people to realize they need to change sweeteners. Why not express your concerns to them directly?
Erythritol is currently found in Z-Carb chocolate bars and even in the one-carb version of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. The sooner companies realize that we need erithyritol in our sugar-free candies, the more successful their business will be over the long term.
But apparently that is not a concern to the big candy companies right now because business is booming. Is it going to take an overwhelming outcry from earnest low-carb and diabetic consumers to convince them that we want and need them to change their sweetener? This is the exact same dilemma that the soda companies had to contend with before finally giving us what we wanted this year.
Acquisitions Editor for Packaged Facts Don Montuori states the "low-carb craze revved up and perhaps overheated the [diet candy] market" over the past few years, but he believes it will long outlast any diet plan out there today.
He's got to be kidding. Is he so delusional to think that sugar-free products would be selling as well as they are right now if it wasn't for low-carb? He even admits the impact low-carb consumers have had on the market, but thinks it will be sustained without the help of low-sugar dieters. Yeeeeaaaaaaahhhhh. Riiiigggght. Take away low-carbers and your market is diabetics only, buddy. Try keeping up with your sales quotas then and we'll see how long you stay in business!
Montuori acknowledged the "positive consumer recognition" of Splenda as opposed to the tanking public opinion of Nutrasweet. But even products that carry the Splenda logo need to be carry examined to make sure they don't have those nasty sugar alcohols in them that I mentioned earlier. It's a little bait and switch tactic I've noticed companies like to implore. They blare on the front of the product "SWEETENED WITH SPLENDA," but then don't tell you the primary sweetener is maltitol. You don't notice it until you stomach starts getting knots in it several minutes after eating one of these innocent-looking products! BIG mistake!
Russell Stover owns 37 percent of the sales of diet candy, followed by Hershey at 14 percent, Atkins Nutritionals at 12 percent, and Kraft at 9 percent. Overall sales of diet candy in 2004 reached a mind-boggling $495 million! That's nowhere near the sales of sugar-filled candy, but the tremendous rate of growth of this market proves there is a strong consumer demand out there for quality candies for people watching their sugar intake.
One final thought: If you want a copy of this 100-page report on diet candy, it's gonna cost you almost $2000. At that price, it should be made of sugar-free chocolate! Read a page, eat a page, read a page, eat a page. Yummy! Just make sure it has erithyritol in it, okay? :-)
posted by Jimmy Moore at
6/29/2005 05:11:00 PM
2 Comments:
For those who are not aware of their existence, CarbSense has a line of candy that has NO sugar alcohols.
Their website:
http://www.carbsense.com
Levi, you are exactly right. I never realized how sweet almonds were until I quit sugar for several months. These nuts are REALLY sweet and delicious and I never knew it. I still love my Splenda-sweetened desserts, but your tastebuds are certainly enhanced when you are livin' la vida low-carb and give up sugar.
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