Product diversification will detonate the sugar substitute market

China is the world's third largest sugar market, and sugar reduction and sugar control have been written into policy advocacy

Erythritol is in oversupply

Suppliers should "walk on multiple legs"

China is the world's largest producer of sweeteners, and the world's leading producers of sweeteners are in China - including the world's largest erythritol supplier Ternary Biologics, the world's largest supplier of sucralose and acesulfame Jinhe Industry, the world's second largest xylitol producer Huakang Shares, the world's top two Luohan fruit sugar supplier Huacheng Biological, covering all categories

It is worth noting that unlike the current sugar substitute as a "healthier sweet choice", sugar substitute has a long history of being "demonized", and there has been controversy

The domestic sugar replacement trend is undoubtedly set off by the Yuanqi Forest Zero Sugar Sparkling Water, which uses erythritol as the main source of

The variety of sugar substitutes is very rich, and the reason why the market has a "special affection" for erythritol is due to the fact that it is the type

It is precisely because erythritol is "dominant" in a number of new sugar substitutes, and manufacturers have announced the expansion of production capacity

But on the demand side, Frost & Sullivan forecasts that total global erythritol demand in 2022 will be 173,000 tons

Under overcapacity, the shipment price of erythritol is constantly declining

At the same time, the prices of raw materials such as corn and wheat needed to produce erythritol have risen sharply and sharply due to multiple factors such as the international situation and climate, which has adversely affected

On the one hand, the call for sugar control and sugar reduction is rising, and on the other hand, the supply of erythritol is oversupplied, and the sugar replacement industry seems to be in an embarrassing situation

Therefore, on the one hand, sugar substitute enterprises should develop a more diversified sugar substitute business, and effectively disperse benefits and risks while walking on multiple legs, for example, Bowling Bao also announced the expansion of aloxone sugar with the same production capacity while deciding to expand erythritol, which has better stability and taste closer to sucrose, but it has not been approved as a food additive in the domestic market; Huakang Bio announced on September 5 that it intends to issue 990 million convertible bonds to increase functional sugar alcohols, including starch sugar/sugar alcohol series, aloxone sugar and other types

Consumer market sugar war

A contest of ideas, minds, and scenes

The C-end sugar substitute "battle" is constantly being fought

Some traditional sugar companies are also actively seeking change to meet the changing "sweet" needs of

Mature overseas sugar substitute brands have also begun to lay out the Chinese market

More brands are following this hot business with the help of foundries, such as the sugar substitute products of many brands such as Impression of the Past, Beijie, Xinglin Caotang, Hong Shengxiang, Shark Fit, etc.

From the product description, the promotion of sugar substitute products emphasizes the characteristics of "zero fat, zero calorie and zero sucrose", labels the main ingredients such as erythritol, stevia, monk fruit stegan, etc.

In terms of price, the price difference of sugar substitutes can be described as very uneven, if 500 grams is one, the unit price can fluctuate
at 9-95 yuan.
CBNData survey shows that the price of the product is not directly related to whether the sugar substitute is compounded and whether the brand is well-known, and consumers lack certain reference standards
for purchasing.

From the sales point of view, the above-mentioned "irregular army" that is backed by the foundry and seems to be unknown has sold goods quite well
.
On the Taobao platform, the sales volume of sugar substitute products of food brands in the past impression, Hong Shengxiang, Zhonglan, and baking brand exhibition art are higher than those of professional sugar substitute brands such as Aile Sweet and Hegan, as well as traditional sugar enterprises
such as Ganjuyuan and Swire Collection.

The reason for this phenomenon is the adaptation of the
scene.
Consumers who buy healthy foods have obviously done more thorough research on what kind of flavored sugar is healthier than the average consumer; Baking is a scene with a considerable amount of sugar, in the pursuit of delicious while striving for health, is a pain point for baking enthusiasts, in the bakery store to buy sugar substitute is logical
.
In addition, sugar substitutes also have special needs such as diabetic patients and three high populations, and because of this, many brands will indicate "XX University provides technical support" and "XX Pharmaceutical Production" on the sugar substitute product introduction page to strengthen authoritative endorsement
.
There are also brands that match the target group in multiple scenarios through multi-channel layout, such as the old impression in addition to selling sugar substitute products in the brand flagship store, but also laid out Ali Health Pharmacy and Tmall supermarket
.

In contrast, professional sugar substitute brands are conducting more systematic market education
.
On the Xiaohongshu platform, most of the notes of the official accounts of brands such as Aile Sweet and Zhen Weitian revolve around self-made drinks, homemade pastries, and Chinese food tutorials, constantly conveying to consumers the concept of
replacing sucrose with sugar substitutes in their daily diets.
In order to further expand the brand influence, Hegan was implanted in the online comprehensive "Star Mother Please Answer", and Aile Tian invited Hu Xianxu as the brand spokesperson
.

Uniting more brands and using more scenes is also an important promotion path
for sugar replacement brands.
Aile Sweet has launched a joint gift box with many terminal consumer brands such as Super Orangutan, Shanghai Auntie, QSSD Baking, etc.
, which hooks up multiple scenes
such as fitness, tea drinking, and baking.
In terms of offline, Aile Sweet has launched a free experience activity for sugar reduction baking in Shanghai's
core business district.
It also launched the "Parents Sugar Exchange Special Action" in some communities in Shanghai, where residents can exchange the white sugar at home for free for the love of sweet sugar substitute products, and at the same time launch a gift box of the same name in an attempt to break into the gift scene
.

Although sugar substitute brands spare no effort to educate the market, there are still many pain points
in this market.
Judging from the evaluation of sugar substitute products, some baking enthusiasts will find that the cake cannot be
made after using sugar substitute for baking.
There are also consumers who use sugar substitutes for Chinese cooking, and find that they cannot fry the bright sugar color
that white sugar can fry.
While promoting the concept of sugar reduction and sugar control, how to make consumers accept the truth that "fish and bear paws cannot have both" is also a topic
in the future sugar substitute market education.
In addition, the new generation of sugar substitutes is still facing the same situation as the predecessors of aspartame, acesulfame and other sugar substitutes - there is still some controversy in the market for the safety of the new generation of sugar substitutes, and the in-depth research of related industries and the improvement of industry regulations need to be further promoted
.

The continuous development of the sugar substitute market is also inseparable from the promotion
of more forces in more fields.
Nesher's Tea launched a series of bottled fruit teas, the first in the industry to use Luohan juice instead of sugar, trying to tear a hole in the erythritol as the mainstream zero-sugar beverage market, and also to establish the generation
of Luohan Guoliside sugar varieties among consumers.
In May 2021, Yuanqi Forest and Jiangnan University established the first school-enterprise cooperation in China's sugar reduction health research institute, which combines
the development of sugar substitute and sugar reduction products at the industrial research end with product development and brand promotion on the consumer demand side.

In summary, if sugar substitutes want to further expand the consumer market, they still need to answer the following questions from consumers: why should sugar substitutes be used, whether sugar substitutes are really safe, what are the characteristics and differences of different types of sugar substitutes, and which scenarios are suitable for sugar substitutes
.
But it is certain that sugar control and sugar reduction are the trend of the times, and the sugar replacement market may encounter an "embarrassing period" in the short-term development, but the future prospects are worth looking forward to
.

(Luo Chen, Zhang Xiaosha)

China Food News(2022/10/07/02 edition)

(Editor-in-charge: Luo Chen)