A survey conducted by ADM has found that consumers are limiting or avoiding buying food and beverage products with high sugar levels.
During the data collection process, ADM asked 13,900 people in 15 countries about their purchasing habits, with participants spanning across North America, LATAM, Europe and Asia.
It revealed that consumers from different regions tended to lean towards their own set of perogatives when shopping.
For example, 69% of North American shoppers said they would review the sugar content of a product, while also checking the ingredients on the labelm whereas other regions would be unlikely to do that.
According to this survey, assessing sugar content in non-alcoholic beverages is a global priority, but sweetening preferences varies drastically from region to region.
90% ... actively limit or avoid sugar intake
An overarching move away from sugar
Depending on where in the world you are marketing towards, it appears that a consumer's priorities will vary, according to ADM.
However, from this survey, it was revealed that a notable proportion of the population is looking to reduce their sugar intake.
This was especially prevalent in countries like Mexico, Spain, Romania and Brazil, where 90% stated that they actively limit or avoid sugar intake.
Consumers would even say that this sits on the same priority level as taste — with the only outlier being the Asia Pacific region, as they prioritised quality and health benefits over this.
The Sweets Insights Tool
To make this data widely available to all in the food and beverage (F&B) industry, ADM has introduced a new interactive tool to offer unique insights into the world's view on sugar reductions.
The online tool will allow F&B manufacturers to assess the similarities and differences between nations in their consumer habits, allowing them to effectively cater their formulation and marketing strategies to specific regions.
Senior Marketing Director of Global Sweetening and Texturising Solutions for ADM, Sarah Diedrich, commented: "It's clear how significant monitoring sugar consumption is, no matter the region. That's why we have invested in extensive research and analysis to understand attitudes towards sugar, motivations for reading labels and unique ingredient preferences."
"We began this journey two years ago, and it has culminated in the launch of a new interactive insights tool that provides users with an in-depth look at the nuances of consumer behavior across the globe."
"These are just a few trends identified in the extensive statistics organised in our new interactive tool, designed to help navigate consumer desires for limiting sugars," said Diedrich.
"Supplying global and local insights is just the first step to our holistic approach to achieving successful sweetening solutions. Paired with formulation expertise and our vast portfolio of ingredients – all parts come together to address global nutrition goals."