way out of the gloom Despite the gloomy picture painted of declining sales, sugar companies believe they can shake off sugar's dull image. Tate & Lyle head of marketing Adrian Mooney says research shows that there are significant pockets of activity and growth within the home baking sector. "People are still keen to invest time and effort in creating mouthwatering dishes," he says. T&L has responded with investment in a series of internet activities. Two websites fronted by TV chef Gary Rhodes have been offering advice, recipe suggestions and special deals. The company says the cooksclub site, geared towards keen cooks, has taken more than 20,000 hits, while its cookwithlyle site interacting with families and children, has taken 15,000. Napier Brown which owns Whitworth's sugars has also chosen the internet to woo cooks, as well as user friendly products such as its icing and caster sugar shakers which it recently relaunched. This year Silver Spoon has given packaging makeovers to its Sucron sugar-based low calorie sweetener used for cooking, as well as its jam, pectin and preserving sugars. Meanwhile speciality, and particularly organic, is playing a strong role in the sugar sector as consumers opt for a healthier choice. All the major companies now have organic in their ranges. Billington's, which specialises in unrefined sugars and organic, claims to be insulated from the worst of the problems in the sugar sector. Marketing manager Mark Bosworth says: "The outlook is challenging and there is no immediate sign that the dynamics of the sugar and home baking sectors will greatly change for the better. "However, we are confident that by offering a range that stands scrutiny in terms of product performance and broader environmental concerns, it will continue to offer an indispensable part of the home baking fixture." {{FOCUS SPECIALS }}