Shoppers are voting with their wallets in the war on sugar, according to an exclusive new poll carried out for The Grocer.
Research by consultants Bridgethorne suggests 62% of consumers are actively looking to reduce sugar in their diets. Of those, a fifth claim to have stopped eating all sugary products, and 75% claim to be buying fewer.
Of those shoppers trying to reduce their sugar intake, 44.9% reported they had dumped sugary fizzy drinks in favour of low or no-calorie versions.
But it’s not just fizzy drinks that shoppers say they are avoiding, with 34% of those cutting down saying they are reducing their consumption of fruit juice.
Overall, 30.1% claim they are buying more low/no-sugar food products, such as reduced-sugar tomato ketchup.
Of the 80% of consumers who say they have concerns about the sugar in food, nearly 30% believe sugar is linked to health problems.
Sugar was also the most checked-for item on product labels, according to the research, with nearly 60% claiming they look for sugar content when checking labels, compared with just 43% checking calories.
However, the poll of 750 consumers unearthed generally positive views on efforts made by suppliers and retailers on health labelling, with nearly 75% saying they think on-pack information is effective, and more than half saying they could think of no way labelling could be improved.
“What is clear from findings is that the demand and need for lower-sugar products will not subside,” said Bridgethorne joint MD John Nevens. “Sugar is clearly the biggest concern, perhaps indicating a long-term shift in shopper and consumer behaviour attitudes, which suggests many product changes in grocery.”
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